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MEMOIRS OF 

STONEWALL JACKSON 



UV HIS WIDOW 



MARY ANNA JACKSON 



WITH INTKOnUCTIOXS BY 

Lieut. -Gen. John B. Gordon 
AND Rev. Henky M. Field 

AND SKETCHES BY 

liENERAI.S FlrZHUfiH LkE, S. G. FRENCH, LAFAYETTE McLAWS, M. C. 
BUTLEK, BUADLEY- T. JOHS.SON. JAMES H. LANE, WILI.IAM B. 

Taliaferro, Samitei, G. McGowan, Henry' Heth, Bash, 

W. Dlike, Ex-Gov. F. W. M. Holi.iday-, Revs. J. W. 

Jones and J. R. Graham. Coi,. Augostits <". 

Hamlin, ('apt. Joseph .';. Morrison- 



Viscount I GENERAL! WOLSELEY, C'OMMANDEB-InCHIEF OF THE ARMIES 

OF Great Britain, and Col. G. F. R. Hender.son, Professor in 
the British .Staff College, Camberly, Surrey-, England. 



1 1_ L U ST R AT ED. 



THE PRENTICE PRESS. 

rclTRIER-,IOURN.^L JOB PRINTING COMPANY', 
LOUISVILLE, KY. 



e^-' 



J vO 



5\^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1895, 

BY 

CouElER-JouRN'.M. Job Pkinting CXX 






TO 

THE GRANDCHILDREN OF GENERA!, JACKSON 

JULIA AND JACKSON CHRISTIAN 
Shis Book is iDcbicateb 

IN THE PRATEKFUL HOPE THAT AS THET GROW IN TEARS THEY MAV 

DRAW INSPIRATION FROM HIS EXAMPLE, AND CONFORM THEIR LIVES 

TO THE SAME KXALTED STANDARD OF CHRISTIAN DUTY, WHICH 

MARKED THE CHARACTER OF THEIR GRANDSIRE, AND WHICH 

WAS ALSO RKFLKCTKD IN THE LIFE OF THEIR YODNG 

MOTHER, WHO WITH GENTLE FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWED 

HER FATHER AS HE FOLLOWED JESCS 



PREFACE. 



For many years after the death of my husband the 
sliadow over my Ufe was so deep, and all that con- 
cerned him was so sacred, that I could not consent to 
lift the veil to the public gaze. But time softens, if it 
does not heal, the bitterest sorrow ; and the pleadings 
of his only child, after reaching womanhood, finally 
])revailed upon me to write out for her and her chil- 
dren my memories of the father she had never known 
on earth. She was my inspiration, encouraging me, 
and delighting in every page that was written ; but 
the work was not more than half completed when 
God took her to be with him whose memory she cher- 
isiied with a reverence and devotion which became 
more intense with the development of her own pure 
and noble character. After her departure, which was 
truly " sorrow's crown of sorrows^" I had no heart to 
continue the work ; but, remembering ho\v earnestly 
she wished me to write it for her and her children, I 
renewed the effort to finisli it, for the sake of the pre- 
cious little ones she left. In forcing my mind and pen 
to do their task, I found some " surcease of sorrow " 
in carrying out her wishes; and, as I went on, the 



VI 



PREFACE. 



grand lessons of submission and fortitude of mj' hus- 
band's life gave me strengtii and courage to pei-sevei'e 
to the end. 

If it be thought that I have been too free in my 
revelations of what was so purely personal, in that it 
pertained to his home circle, it must be remembered 
that this was written expressly for his grandchildren, 
who in no other way could ever know that tender and 
exquisite phase of his inner life, which was never re- 
vealed to the world. 

Mary Anna Jackson. 



NOTE. 

On pages 56 to 88 there appear frequent and extended extracts 
from an interesting article by Mrs, M.irgaret J. Preston, entitled 
" Personal Characteristics of Stonewall Jackson," which was pub- 
lished in the Century Magazine for October, 1886. The appropri- 
ate credit for the use of these extracts was inadvertently omitted 
from the first edition of this work, and the Publishers are glad of 
the opportunity to make this acknowledgment to the author of 
the article referred to. 

A similar acknowledgment is due to the late Colonel William 
Allan, of General Jackson's staff, for the use of materials furnished 
in his admirable " History of the Valley Campaign." 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Old English and Scotch-Irish Stock ... 1 

II. " The Boy IS Father OF THE Man " 14 

III. Four Years at West PorNT— 1842-1846 30 

IV. The War With Mexico— 1846-1848 40 

V. Ten Years in the Virginia Military Institute 

—1851-1861 51 

VI. The Professor — Trip to Europe — 1851-1856 . . 81 

VII. Second Marriage— Home Life- 1857-1858 ... 89 

VIII. Home Life Continued— 1858-1859 112 

IX. War Clouds— 1860-1861 133 

X. Harper's Ferry- 1861 148 

XI. The First Battle op Manassas 174 

XII. AVinchesterandRomney Expedition— 1861-1862 303 

XIII. Kernstown, McDowell, and Winchester— 1862 236 

XIV. Cross Keys and Port Republic— 1862 266 

XV. The Richmond Campaign— 1862 289 

XVI. Cedar Run and the Second Battle of Makas- 

SAS 308 

XVII. Maryland Campaign and Sharpsburg — 1862 . . 329 

XVIII. Home Joys — Birth op a Daughter 353 

XIX. The Battle op Fredericksburg 364 

XX. Winter Quarters, Chaplain, and Correspond- 
ence— 1862-3 381 

XXI. The Last Happy Days — Chancellorsvillb . . 407 

XXII. In the Valley of the Shadow — at Rest .... 433 



^'^1 CONTKNTS. 



SKETCHES. 



1. A Chaplain's Recollections op Stonewall Jackson 

—Chaplain J. Wm. Jones ^(^ 

3. Reminiscence op General T. J. " Stonewall " Jack- 
son—Rev. JA.MES R. Graham, D. D 435 

3. Some Personal Reminiscences op Lt.-Gen. Thos. J. 

" Stonewall " J.a.ckson— Maj.-Gen. Wm. B. Talia- 
^^'^'^'^ 508 

4. Personal Recollections op " Stonewall " Jackson 

— Hrig.-Gen. Hradley T. Johnson ....... 527 

5. General J.«kson-Brig.-Gen. James H. Lane. . . . r,U 

6. Battle op Chancellorsville, Va.-A Tribute to 

General Jackson- Lt. -Col. Augustus Choate . 

Hamlin . ,_ 

^ i>42 

/. Tribitk to General J.^ckson-Brig.-Gen. Basil 

Duke 

oC2 

8. Jackson the Hero-Ma.j.-Gen. S. G. French .... .5C6 
0. Personal Recollections of General Jackson- 

Maj.-Gen. Lafayette McLaws 5^9 

10. General Stonewall Jackson — Maj. -Gen. Henry 

Heth 

n. First Sight of J.^ckson-Bkig.-Gen. S.^muel G. '" ' 

MCGOWAN ^„„ 

1'?. "Stonewall " Jackson's Place in History-Col. G. 

F. R. Henderson -,>„ 

13. General Jackson- Viscount (General) Wolseley. COl 

14. Incidents in the Life of Stonewall Jackson- 

Ma.i.-Gex. M. C. Butler f^- 

1.5. General Jackson, One of the World's Gre.^test 

Soldiers-Maj.-Gen. Fitzhugh Lee 607 

16. Harper's Ferry-Capt. Joseph G. Morrison ... 613 

17. "Stonewall" Jackson-Col. F. W. M. Holliday . . 621 

18. Appendix . . 

627 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



General Thomas J. Jackson, Frontispiece. pa<h 

Father of Stonewall Jackson 13 

Birthplace of General Jackson, Clarksburg, W.Va. . 15 

Stonewall Jackson at the Acse op 24 48 

The Virginia JIilitary Institute 54 

Presbyterian Church and Lecture Room at Lexino- 

TON, Va 58 

" Cottage Home " — The Morrison Homestead 88 

The Jackson Dwelling, Lexington, Va 107 

Mary Anna Jackson, Wife of General Jackson .... 148 

"Old Sorrel" ... 172 

General Jackson, at the Battle of First Manassas 

(Bull Run) 202 

Jackson's Attack on the Right Wing of the Federal 

Army at Chancellorsville ^07 

Julia, Daughter of General Jackson, at 13 Years. . 360 
Julia, Daughter op General Jackson, at 1G Years . . 300 
Julia, Daughter op General Jackson, as a Bride . . . 300 
Monument Where Jackson Fell at Chancellors- 
ville, Va 432 

Jackson's Tomb, Lexington, Va 465 

Prayer in Stonewall Jackson's Camp 480 

Some Relics op General Jackson in Mrs. Jackson's 

Home 493 

Jackson Commanding Second Corps at Fredericksburg 536 

Portrait op General Jackson, Best Extant 541 



X ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGR 

Map op Battle of Chancellobsville 549 

Genekal Jackson's Sword ."ilil 

StOSEWALT- I^HKiADE PLANTING ThEIK CaNNOX .V.tll 

A Charge and Capture of Federal Breastworks at 

Chancellorsville 600 

Statue op General Jackson at Lexington, Va 012 

Statue op General Jackson at Richmond, Va 620 

General Jackson, from a Medallion Worn by Mrs. 

Jackson 626 

Foley's English Statue op Jackson, Front View . . . 630 

Foley's English Statue op Jackson, Back View .... 6.S3 

Julia Jackson Christian, at 4 Years 640 

T. Jackson Christian, at 3 Years 641 



O^TRODUCTION. 

By Lieutknant-General John B. Gordon. 

The volume to which this is intetuled as a brief 
introduction has ah-eaily won its wav to distinction. 
It is now to be issued as a second antl improved 
edition. The value of this l)i>ok, which insures a 
more complete understanding of " Stonewall " Jack- 
son's life and character, can scarcely be over- 
estimated. Mrs. Jackson gives to the world, in a 
simple and thrilling story, a less conspicuous but 
scarcely less important phase of the life and char- 
acter of the great warrior. She gives his domestic 
life, which is the better side of him, if indeed any 
one phase can be considered better than another in 
a life like tliat of General Jackson, which in every 
sphere was wholly consecrated to duty. From no 
other sDurce could have been ol)tained such informa- 
tion and data concerning one of tlie most remark- 
able men who has ever tigured in the history of this 
country. His career as a soldier was brilliant and 
dazzling. It had neither the dimness of a dawn, 
nor the fading of a twilight ; but was full-orbed 
from first to last. Yet the philosophic historian 
will no longer consider the splendor of his success 
in war, without at the same time contemplating the 
simplicity and purity which, like a halo of light, 
encircled his domestic and religious life. 

To the casual observer General Jackson might 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

appear as a man of strange contradictions; but sucli 
a conception of him would be entirely erroneous. 
There was in all of his mental and moral character- 
istics the most perfect harmony. The writer of this 
introduction has frequently had occasion to correct 
an impression, more or less prevailing, that General 
Jackson, when upon his famous marches or in 
battle, became so intent upon victory as to lose 
sight, in some measure, of the sufterings and lives 
of his men. Nothing could be further from the 
truth. That he did, on his forced marches, tax to 
the utmost the strength and physical endurance of 
his men is undoubtedly true ; but his object was to 
achieve results by surprises if possible, rather than 
tlirough hotly contested and bloody battles where 
the enemy was fully prepared ; and he succeeded 
because he struck when and where he was least 
expected. It is also true that in delivering battle 
his methods might be regarded as almost reckless 
by tliose wlio failed to understand him, but wliat 
seemed reckless audacity was the essence of jirudence. 
His eye had caught at a glance the entire situation, 
and his genius, with marvellous celerity and accu- 
racy, had weighed and measured all the chances of 
success or failure. While, therefore, others less 
gifted or officially more timid were hesitating or 
slowly feeling their way, by employing in detail 
insufKcient forces, Jackson, without for one moment 
doubting his success, hurled his whole army like a 
thunderbolt against the opposing lines and thus 
ended the battle at a single blow. The victory was 
won at the least possible cost of blood and life to 
his army. 



INTRODUCTION. XIH 

General Jackson's conversation and bearing were 
dignified, natural and nnassnming. Few men ever 
lived who won so great reputation in so short a 
period and yet remained so free from the usual 
weakness of personal vanity. He was essentially 
a modest man, and yet his faith in his own intuitions 
never iixltered. Wlien his judgment was once made 
up, his reliance upon it was absolute. He listened 
respectfully and jiationtly to suggestions from those 
under his command, and then courteously hut firmly 
rejected them when they conflicted with his own 
unerring judgment. 

In issuing orders or giving verbal instructions his 
words were few and simple : but they were so clear, 
so comprehensive and direct that no officer could 
possibly misunderstand and none dared disobey. 

He had at times the aspect of an austere man; but 
it was only the semblance and not the substance of 
severity. Mrs. Jackson, in the beautiful picture 
Avhicli she draws of his most pronounced character- 
istics, demonstrates — as those who] knew him best 
always realized — that his nature was gentle, emo- 
tional and aifectionate and that his sensibilities 
were both delicate and refined. His oflicial and 
dignified reserve, which, like an impenetrable armor, 
protected him from unseemly fiiniiliarity and in(j[uisi- 
tive meddling with his plans, was never interpreted 
as coldness by tljose who followed him ; for they 
knew that beneath that official exterior there was 
another Jackson whose great heart was beating 
with ceaseless and fraternal solicitude for their wel- 
fare and safety: that under that brow always placid, 
even in the fury of battles, there was a mighty 



XIV IXTRODUCTION. 

brain throbl)iiig with electric energy and working 
for their success with the power and precision of the 
most perfect machinery. Hence he attaclied his 
men to him by the strongest of ties, and aroused 
among them wherever lie appeared an enthusiasm 
that was ])oundless. 

It is fitting perhaps that General Jackson's un- 
ostentatious, sincere and deeply rooted religions 
faith should be treated as his noblest and crowning 
characteristic. His trust in God and reliance upon 
an overruling Providence permeated his thought and 
guided his actions at all times and in all stations. 
Whether he was dispensing light and joy in the 
family circle, kindling the noblest aspirations among 
his pupils in the school-room, planning in his tent 
his masterful strategy and praying for heavenly 
guidance, or riding like the incarnate spirit of war 
through the storm of battle, his sublime faith never 
faltered. 

In looking back over the career of this American 
phenomenon, it is difficult for the writer to find his 
counterpart in history. Perhaps in quickness of 
decision at the moment of extremity, in rapidity of 
movement, in the originality and peculiar qualities 
of his genius. General Jackson more resembled 
Napoleon Bonaparte than any of the great warriors 
of the past. It would be tlie rankest sacrilege to 
compare, as a man, the character of Napoleon to that 
of the matchless Jackson. In this regard they were 
as wide apart as the poles. It requires, however, 
neither the partiality of friendship for Jackson, nor 
any coloring of his record, to justify a comparison 
between the two as great military chieftains. The 



INTRODUCTION. 



XV 



writer submits in t'onclusion that when an unbiased 
and intelligent analysis is made of the character of 
" Stonewall '" Jackson, of his opportunities and 
resources, and of the results achieved by him, he will 
undoubtedly be accorded in history a commanding 
position among the great generals of the world. 




INTRODUCTIOX T(J FUiHT EDITIONS'. 



The time has come when we can do justice to 
those who were once in arms against us. Our lieroes, 
on the one side and on the othei', are nearly all gone 
to the grave. As they drew near the end, those who 
had been separated in unnatural strife felt the old 
love come back again, and yearned for mutual recog- 
nition. General Grant, on his death-bed, opened his 
heart to General Buckner. speaking with the utmost 
tenderness of the South, which had suffered so much. 
It was his dying wish that all her wounds might 
be healed ; and that henceforth the I^orth and the 
South should stand together, equal partners in one 
glorious Union. It is only a few months since Gen- 
eral Sherman was borne through our streets, and 
among those who followed at his bier was his great 
adversary. General Johnston, who. by a singular co- 
incidence, survived him but a few weeks. Thus the 
warriors who once "to battle rode" at the head of 
hostile armies, now fall into Une in the great proces- 
sion to that realm of silence in which all enmities are 
buried. 

In this bearing of our great soldiers towai-ds each 



XVlli IXTRODIX'TIOX. 

other, they who were " first in war " were also " fii-st 
in peitce;" and it were well if they should remain 
"first in the hearts of their countrymen," as the 
leaders whom we are to follow in the work of re- 
union. " Why, then, do we recall the memories of a 
war that is ended, and that had better be forgotten i 
Let the dead past bury its dead." But out of tiiat 
deatl past comes the living present. A great war 
cannot be forgotten. If it were only as a terrific 
explosion of human passion, a ti'agedy of which all 
the world are spectators — it would have a terrible 
fascination. Civil war has a still more tragic interest, 
as it is a war between brothers, and, though family 
quarrels are proverbiallj' bitter, yet all the while, deep 
down in our hearts, there is a lingering tenderness 
that other times and other scenes may awaken again. 
To rekindle this feeling, if it be not the design of 
the present volume, cannot fail to be one result of it. 
It is a poor reconciliation which is obtained only by 
agreeing never to speak of the past. It is the very 
thing of which we should speak, kindly indeed, but 
without reserve. Men who are honest and brave 
have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to con- 
ceal ; and the better they know each other, the more 
will thej' be drawn together by the mutual attraction 
of noble characters. Besides, the four years of our Civil 
War were in some respects the grandest since the 
nation was born. Awful, terrible, it is true, but mag- 
nificent and sublime. Then for the first time the 
American people learned what stuff they were made 



INTRODUCTION. XIX 

of. For the development of character those four 
years were better than a hundred years of unbroken 
prosperity. Better than all the summer sunshine on 
ripening harvests were the thunders and lightnings 
that woke a nation to life, and gave it the full con- 
sciousness of its power. Never did our countrymen 
rise to such heights of courage and devotion. Never 
did they perform such deeds, or make such sacrifices. 
We must be sunk low indeed if we are capable of 
forgetting the most splendid period of American 
history. 

Nor would we have our annals limited to those 
who fought on the side that was victorious. A na^ 
tion's life is counted not by years, but by genera- 
tions. A generation that was distinguished by its 
wars is followed by one that is devoted to the arts 
of peace; and sons may be proud of the deeds of 
their fathers, and yet not think it a part of loyalty 
to keep alive their hatreds. Indeed, there comes a 
lime when the great figures that pass before us on 
the canvas of history are so blended that we hard- 
ly distinguish friends from foes, but recognize them 
all as actors in a time that is forever past. And 
so we can read the story of Lee and of Jackson 
with no wish to depreciate their greatness, but 
claiming it as belonging to us, since, if they were 
Southerners, they wei-e also Americans, and their 
illustrious names are a part of our common inheri- 
tance of glory. Therefore it is that we welcome a 
tale of war which mav be said to be told in the in- 



XX INTRODrc'TKiN. 

terest of peace, as it describes a career that illustrates 
some of the noblest qualities of human character. 
Believing that a generous recognition of what was 
true and bi-ave on both sides is the surest pletlge of 
complete reconciliation, I count it a privilege to 
have a part, however slight, in this tribute to a 
Christian soldier, who, if he were '"not with us but 
against us," showed such high qualities, such power 
of command, such fortitude, and such true moral 
greatness, as to be worthy of the honor of us all. 

Stonewall Jackson was the most picturesque figure 
in the war. Kot so high in command as General 
Lee on the one side, or General Grant on the other, 
neither had a personality so unique. In Jackson 
there were two men in one : he united qualities that 
are not only alien to each other, but that seem almost 
incompatible — military genius of the highest order 
with a religious fervor tJiat bordered on fanaticism ; a 
union of the soldier and the saint for which we must 
go back to tlie time of Cromwell. A thunderbolt in 
war, he was in society so modest and unassuming as 
to appear even shy and timid. A character in which 
such contradictions are combined is one of the most 
fascinating studies to be found in American history. 

One view of this extraordinary man has already 
been given to the world. In the great operations of 
war he was a character apart ; a man of mystery ; 
silent and uncommunicative ; wrapping himself in liis 
reserve as in a military cloak; asking no advice; form- 
ing his own plans, which those nearest to him could 



IXTRODUCTION. XXI 

not penetrate and hardly dared to conjecture, and 
which were disclosed even to his military family only 
when he gave his orders for the march and the battle. 
Such is Stonewall Jackson as his martial figure passes 
before us on the canvas of history. 

But such is not the figure which it is the purpose of 
this volume to portray. The author has no thought of 
adding one more to the histories of the militar}' career 
of General Jackson. That has been written by his old 
companions in arms, and by military critics at home 
and abroad who have made a study of his campaigns, 
following on the map those rapid marches in which he 
was not surpassed by Napoleon in his first campaigns 
in Italy ; and finding in his peculiar strategy enough 
to give him a place among the great captains of the 
age. 

But with Jackson, as with others who have acted a. 
great part in public aff'airs, there was another side to 
the man — an inner life, known but to few, and fully 
known onlj^ to hei' who was united to him in the 
closest of all human relations. Of the war itself she 
has but little to tell us ; for he did not confide his 
plans even to her. It was not that he distrusted her 
womanly discretion ; but, in the midst of thousands of 
watchful eyes, had he disclosed to her the dangers into 
which he was going, her cheek might have blanched 
with fear, or a shade of anxiety passed over her 
countenance that would have set all to wondering 
what it meant. Only when he signified that she 
should retire to a place of safet}' had she a forebod- 



XXU IXTRODICTION. 

ing of what was to come ; though she knew not in 
what direction he was to move, nor how, nor when, 
nor where he was to strike. But, with a woman's loy- 
alty to her husband and her faith in God, she was 
content not to know, and prayed only for the gift 
of patience as she waited for the event. 

But when the battle was over, then the tidings 
came ! Now we expect to know everything from the 
chief actor. But again we are disappointed, for in his 
letters, even when written from a field of battle, there 
is no attempt to describe it, and hardly an allusion to 
it, except in a general way, in the expression that often 
recurs in his letters, that " by the blessing of Almighty 
God their arms have been crowned with victory." 

But this extreme reticence, Avhich at first is a disap- 
2)ointment, when looked at a little more closely is a 
revelation of the man, as it shows the supreme self- 
command, which could turn at once from tlie terrible 
excitement of war and direct his thoughts into a 
channel so remote that it carried him quite away in 
an opposite direction. While the battle raged he sat 
on his horse unmoved in the very front of danger ; but 
when the crisis was past, and he could be spared from 
the field, even though the thunders were still rolling 
in the distance, he rode back with the tension of his 
mind relaxed, and entering his tent, *' shut to the 
door," and calmed his spirit in the presence of God. 

Next to the acknowledgment of his Maker was the 
thought of home, and of the young mother with his 
child in her arms I The man of war was at the same 



INTRODUCTION. XXIU 

time the most domestic of men. All his heart was 
centred in one spot. Many who read these ^Jages Avill 
be surprised at the revelation of his passionate love of 
home, to which he was eager to return, though he was 
never to cross its threshold again. While the world 
saw only the soldier with a coat of mail over his 
breast, those who knew him best saw under it a great 
human heart. Above all, to her who looked up in his 
face with perfect trust and confidence, that face was 
open as the day. To her this man of ii'on was the 
gentlest and tenderest of human beings ; whose first 
thought was always for her; whose strong arm guard- 
ed her from harm ; who would not " that even the 
winds of summer should visit her too rough!}'." 

Such devotion cannot be forgotten even after the 
lapse of a quarter of a century. Still the yearning 
heart turns fondly to the past. Still the faithful 
bosom carries within it a great memory and a great 
affection. As she looks back through the mist of 
years, she sees not the military hero, the idol of the 
army, riding down the line of battle, but the husband 
of her youth, *till the same. In her quiet hours, as 
she sits by her desolate fireside, the old days come 
again, and they are once more in the home that was 
always made bright by the sunshine of his presence. 
They sit round the old hearthstone, and kneel to- 
gether in prayer, and walk to the house of God in 
company. 

Filled with such memories, it is but the impulse of 
loyalty to the dead that she should wish that others 



xxiv IXTRODUCTION. 

should know him whose name she bears as she knew 
him ; that the world should appreciate not only the 
soldier, but the man ; that the}' should know all the 
gentleness and the tenderness that were in that lion 
heart. This is revealed nowhere so fully as in his 
letters to her during the war, which those who have 
been permitted to see them privately have earnestly 
requested to have given to the public. If to any they 
seem too personal, I answer, that they are not to be 
judged coldly and critically, but with the symj^athetic 
feeling of those who are themselves capable of such 
tenderness; and I have met the womanlv shyness and 
timidity that shrank from this " unveiling," by saying, 
" Yes, you can leave it all out, and in every case you 
can replace the word of endearment by a blank ; but 
every time you do this you leave out a touch of 
Stonewall Jackson, for this fond devotion, this ex- 
quisite tenderness, was a part of the man as truly as 
his military genius. Sacred, indeed, are these words 
of the dead, but nothing is too sacretl to be devoted 
to such a memory." Knowing, as she only can know, 
all his worth — that he was not only sfl-ong and brave, 
but tender and true, with a heart as soft as her own, 
and that the nearer men came to him the more they 
loved him — she is right to let him speak for himself 
in these gentle words that ai'e whispei'etl from the 
dust. And sure we are that those who have read all the 
great histories of the war will turn with fresh interest 
to this simple story, written out of a woman's heart. 

Henry ^f. Fiei.p. 



LIFE AND LETTERS 

OF 

GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON 



CHAPTER I. 

THE OLD ENGLISH AND SCOTCniRISH STOCK. 

In the year IT-iS a ship sailed from the coast of 
England, bearing a number of passengers who were 
seeking new homes in the British colonies of Amer- 
ica. In this vessel were a young man and a young 
woman, both from the city of London, but who were 
probably unknown to each other when they embarked 
for the strange land to which they were bound. 

The young man, John Jackson, was about twenty- 
three years of age, and was endowed with many of 
the qualities which insure success in life — being true 
and upright, active and energetic, of quiet but deter- 
mined character ; and he needed only the help of the 
noble woman whom God gave him as a wife to make 
his home in the forest a happy and prosperous one. 
He was small of stature, but of good mind and sound 
judgment, and left the impress upon his generation of 
great goodness, industry, and tranquil courage. He 
was of Scotch -Irish descent, and when, fifty years 
after he left England, his eldest son, George Jackson, 
1 



2 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

was a member of Congress at the same time that 
Andrew Jackson was Senator from Tennessee, they 
found, on comparing notes, that their ancestors came 
from the same parish near Londonderry. 

Elizabeth Cummins, the young woman who was the 
fellow - passenger of John Jackson, was a handsome 
blonde, with the stature of a man, six feet in height, 
and as remarkable for sti'ength of intellect as for 
beauty and physical vigor. She was well educated, 
her father having been in sufficiently easy circum- 
stances to own and rent out a public-house in Lon- 
don called " The Bold Dragoon," from which he de- 
rived a good income, and he was supposed to own 
landed estates in Ireland. After his deatii, his widow 
married her brother-in-law — a marriage which was so 
repulsive to her daughter that she could not become 
reconciled to it. Her step-father, who was also her 
uncle, one day aroused her indignation to such a 
pitch that with her powerful arm she hurled a silver 
tankai'd at his head, and then fled from her home. 
She scarcely missed her aim. it is supposed, for. young 
as she was — not more than fifteen or sixteen — she was 
not of a nature to do things by halves. However, the 
unfortunate man must have recovered from the broken 
head, or family tradition would have recorded his 
death. It was the custom at that time for emigrants 
who had not the means of paying for their passage 
across the Atlantic to bind themselves for a certain 
terra of service on reaching the colonies. As the cir- 
cumstances of Elizabeth's flight made it impossible 
for her to procure money for her journey, she proved 
her heroism by adopting tiiis mode of escaping from 
a life which had become intolerable to her. 



THE OLD ENGLISH STOCK. 3 

John Jackson was so captivated with this stately 
Saxon beauty, that he eagerly offered her his heart, 
his hand, and his purse, but she proudly refused his 
assistance. During the voyage she formed the friend- 
ship of a family bound for Maryland, and accepted 
their offer of a home and employment, and thus earned 
the money to pa^' her passage. John Jackson's devo- 
tion, however, made an impression upon her heart, 
and a year or two later they were married in Calvert) 
County, Maryland, he also having settled in the pos-i 
sessions of Lord Baltimore upon his arrival in the 
Kew World. It is natural to suppose that Elizabeth 
was the magnet that kept him from wandering farther 
until he succeeded in winning her for his wife. The 
young couple, in their desire to find new and cheaper 
lands, moved at once to Western Virginia, and made 
their first home upon tlie south branch of the Poto- 
mac, at the place now known as Moorfields, the county 
seat of Hardy County. But after a shoit residence in 
this beautiful valley, the enterprising spirit of the pair 
led them to seek broader lands, and they crossed the 
AUegiiany ridge, and settled upon the Buckhannon 
Eiver, at a place which was long known as Jackson's 
Fort, but is now the little village of Buckhannon. 
Here, surrounded by the Indian tribes, who were stiU 
contending with the whites for the possession of the 
lands, the settlers were often attacked by these treach- 
erous foes. For their protection the whites were com- 
pelled to build stockade forts, to which they fled with 
their families in times of danger. Tradition has pre- 
served many instances of the intrepid spirit which 
Elizabeth Jackson displayed on these occasions. She 
never quailed at the sound of the war-whoop, and her 



4 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

voice was heard, not only in soothing and cheering 
the women and children, but in inspiring the men to 
heroic resistance. 

When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, 
John Jackson and his older sons bore their part in it 
as soldiers, and at its close returned to their homes 
and devoted themselves to the improvement of their 
fortunes. The patriarch, John, and his true help- 
meet, Elizabeth, by their sagacity and industry ac- 
quired the most valuable lands of the country, and 
were enabled to endow each one of their eight chil- 
dren with a farm. Indeed, it is said that several 
patents are still in existence, transmitted to Elizabeth 
Jackson, in her own name — lands which proved valu- 
able property to her descendants. Their eldest son 
was Colonel George Jackson, who lived at Clarks- 
burg, Harrison County, and who received his title 
in the Revolutionary war. He represented his State in 
the General Assembly of Virginia, and also in Congress. 
After the death of his father he removed to Zanesville, 
Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life. 

The second son was Edward, the grandfather of the 
suljject of this memoir. He made his home in Lewis 
Count}', about four miles from the village of Weston, 
and was a vigorous and energetic man, esteemed and 
beloved, and for a long time was surveyor of that 
region of country — a business that was very lucrative 
in those early .days, and he acquired a lai'ge estate. 
He first married a Miss Hadden, by whom he had three 
sons, George. David, and Jonathan, and three daugh- 
ters, of whom one married a man named White, and 
the other two married brothers of the name of Brake. 

A second marriage added to his family nine more 



DEATH OF THE OLD PIONEER, 5 

sons and daughters, among whom was Cummins, the 
kind half-uncle who befriended Thomas J. Jackson in 
his youth, and the only one, so far as we know, that 
had much to do with his early life. 

In their declining years the old couple, John and 
Elizabeth Jackson, removed to the town of C'larks- 
burg, to be near their eldest son, (jeorge, and the tleath 
of the aged sire is thus described by his grandson, 
John G. Jackson, in a letter to Mrs. President Madi- 
son, whose sister he had married in 1801 : 

" Death, on the 25th of September, put a period to 
the existence of my aged grandfather, John Jackf?on, 
in the eighty-sixth year of his age. The long life of 
this good man was spent in those noble and virtuous 
pursuits which endear men to tlieir acquaintance, and 
make their decease sincerely regi'etted by all the g(jod 
and virtuous. He was a native of England, and mi- 
grated hither in the year 17-18. He took an active 
part in the Revolutionary war in favor of indepen- 
dence, and, upon the establishment of it, returned to 
his farming, which he laboriously pursued until the 
marriage of his youngest son, when he was prevailed 
upon by my father to come and reside near him ; there 
he lived several years with his wife, enjoying all his 
mental faculties and great corporeal strength, until a 
few days before his death. I saw him breathe his last 
in the arms of my aged grandmother, and can truly 
add, that to live and die as he did would be the ex- 
cess of happiness. He left a valuable estate at the en- 
tire disposal of the widow, with the concurrence of all 
the natural heirs, as his liberality had been amply ex- 
perienced by them all in his lifetime." 



6 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The stout-hearted wife of his youth survived him 
until 1825, living to the extreme age of one hundred 
amdfive years ! A great-granddaughter describes her 
at the age of a centur}' as being well preserved and 
very interesting, and greatly beloved and revered by 
her long line of descendants. 

By her rare physical and intellectual stamina, this 
remarkal)Ie woman was fitted to be the mother of a 
strong and noble race ; and those of her descendants 
who have met with any success in life have shown the 
same clear intellect, sterling integrity, and force of 
will. The house of Jackson has much to be thankful 
for in both of these pioneer progenitors, for John Jack- 
son himself, according to tradition, was the equal of 
his wife in u])rightness, energy, and courage. General 
Jackson always had a pride in his ancestry, and wished 
that the iiigh character of the fathers should be per- 
petuated in their descendants. Before the war, when 
one of his relatives was a candidate for some political 
office, he took the liveliest interest in his election, and 
wrote several letters in his behalf, one to his cousin. 
Judge William L. Jackson (at that time Lieutenant- 
Governor of Virginia), urging his support, and saying: 
'• I am most anxious to see our family enjoying that 
high standard and influence which it possessed in days 
of yore." He always said his Jackson relations were 
very clannish, and lie himself was warm in his family 
attachments, taking an intei'est in ever^^ worthy person 
who had a drop of his blood in his veins. 

One of the most distinguished sons of the house was 
John G. Jackson, of Clarksburg, the eldest son of 
Colonel George Jackson. He was an eminent lawyer, 
succeeded his father in Congress, and was appointed 



JUDGE JACKSON. 7 

the first Federal Judge of the Western District of 
Virginia. He married Miss Payne, sister of " pretty 
Dolly Madison," the much-admired wife of President 
James Madison.* A second wife was the only daugh- 
ter of Governor Meigs, of Ohio. He died in the prime 
of life in the same year with his venerable grand- 
mother, 1825, aged forty-eight years. 

* The following letter from Mrs. President Madison to Judge 
Jackson, expressing herself in regard to the illness of her sister 
(his wife), will be of interest: 
, " Washington, D. C, January 12th, 1807. 

" Oh, my dear brother, your letter has plunged me in the deepest 
distress ! What can I do for that beloved sister whose image and 
whose sufferings, I can say with truth, have never for an hour 
been absent from my mind ? Week after week have I looked and 
prepared to receive and to nurse my dear Polly, and now, alas ! she 
is too ill [for me] to expect at all. I have consulted everybody, my 
dear Jackson, whose judgment I could trust, and have been flattered 
with the hope, from them and my own opinion, that she would get 
well. Oh that Heaven may spare her to you and to us, my brother ! 

" I send you Doctor Jones's letter, whom I have seen and con- 
versed with a great deal. — You cannot doubt your sister's love for 
you, and her soul-felt sympathy. 

"Hasten to tell me your hopes are revived, and that I may yet 
see you leading to us my precious sister and your children. How 
dreary, how forlorn, does this world appear without you all ! I 
cannot express to you the desolation that seems to surround me 
since I received yours of the 7th. 

"All here is bustle and confusion, on account of Rose's arrival, 
the quarrels in Congress, and the multitude of strangers ; but it 
falls upon my senses like the gloom of death ! 

"I hope Mr. Madison will get time to write to you. I feel 
scarcely able to hold my pen. Prepare for the next post, and 
tell me of your sweet little Mary also. 

" Ever your affectionate sister, Dolly P. Madison. 

"Anna is well, and feels for you as she ought. Adieu." 



S LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The other sons of Colonel George were Edward, a 
physician ; William L., a lawyer, and father of the 
judge of the same name (now living in Louisville, 
Ky.) ; and George Washington, the father of Colonel 
Alfred H. Jackson, who was a staff -officer of General 
Jackson, was mortally wounded at the battle of Cedar 
Run, and lies buried near his beloved commander in 
the cemetery at Lexington, Virginia. 

Jonathan Jackson, son of Edward, and the father of 
Thomas Jonathan, like his grandfather, John, was a 
man of sliort stature. There is a beautiful miniature 
■of him, representing an open, pleasing face, blue eyes, 
and handsome mouth. He was a lawyer, having 
studied his pi'ofession with his distinguished cousin, 
Judge John G. Jackson, whose patronage induced him 
to settle at Clarksburg, and soon afterwards he mar- 
ried Julia Beckwith Neale, the daughter of a merchant 
of Parkersburg. 

The following facts relative to the Neale family and 
also to Jonathan Jackson ^vere furnished by Dr. David 
Creel, a connection of the Neales ; and as they were 
written in his nineUj-fird. year, this, together with his 
quaint style, will add to their interest. He died at 
Chillicothe, Ohio, only a few years ago. It appears 
that General Eobert E. Lee had had some correspond- 
ence with him about the history of Gene»'al Jackson. 
He wrote : 

"The Clarksburg Male Academy was conducted 
solely by George Torvis, an old Englishman, a thor- 
ough scholar with long experience as a teacher. 
Among the pupils we found two noble and highly 
promising young men — Edward, son of George Jack- 



EDWARD AND JOXATHAN JACKSON. 9 

son, and Jonathan, son of Edward Jackson, senior. 
These fathers were brothers, and among the pioneers 
of the country some time before the Indians had re- 
tired, so as to give assurance of peace and freedom 
from danger, and soon became wealthy and indepen- 
dent farmers of high standing and respectability. 
While at school with these young men, a mutual at- 
tachment was created, which was warmly cherished. 
and became stronger and more endearing while they 
lived, and sincerely lamented when they both died in 
the prime of life. Edward Jackson, after leaving 
school, studied medicine, and Jonathan Jackson read 
law. Both attained to some degree of eminence in 
their respective professions, with the esteem, confi- 
dence, and good wishes of all who knew them." 

It is said that these young cousins, who were as 
brothers at school, in manhood became rival suitors 
for the hand of Julia Neale, Jonathan carrying off 
the prize. 

" In paying the soldiers of the county of Harrison 
in the war of 1812, one or two of them, in consequence 
of sickness, did not receive their pay ; but soon after- 
wai'ds their friend, Jonathan Jackson, presented their 
claims and got from us the money for them. This 
was about the fall of 1813, at which time he was suc- 
cessfulh' engaged in the practice of law. He was also 
excise master, or United States revenue officer of the 
county." 

Dr. Creel continues his account of the Neale 
family : 



10 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

" In the early part of the nineteenth century, George 
Lewis and two brothers, George and Thomas Neale, 
removed from the county of Loudon to Wood Coun- 
ty, in Western Virginia. George Lewis purchased a 
large tract of land lying on the Ohio River, six miles 
from Parkersburg, which had been located by Gen- 
eral AVashington, and left by liis will to one of his 
legatees. George Neale, who had married one of his 
daughters, purchased several hundred acres of land 
from his father-in-law, and in a few years became a 
wealthy and independent farmer, respected and be- 
loved for his noble attributes of character. Thomas 
Neale (the maternal grandfather of General Jackson) 
married Margaret Winn, the daughter of Minor Winn, 
who resided on the west side of Bull Run Mountain, 
only a few miles from where the first battle was 
fought in the late war. He located in Parkersburg 
and engaged in the mercantile business, and had a 
family of five children— two daughters, Harriet and 
Julia, and three sons, Alfred, Minor, and William. 
After our return home from the Academy at Clarks- 
burg, we commenced teaching school in the village of 
Parkersburg, and among the pupils were three of 
Thomas Neale's children — Harriet, Julia, and his old- 
est son, Alfred. Of Julia we desire to speak particu- 
larly, not only because she was our great favorite, but 
especially because of her connection with the liistory 
of Jonathan Jackson, wlio became her husband, and 
the father of Thomas Jonathan Jackson. 

" When Julia Neale became our pupil, siie was about 
thirteen years old, endowed with a good natural mind, 
soon acquired the habit of close apphcation, and gave 
us no trouble in her recitations. iShe was rather a bru- 



JONATHAN JACKSON. 11 

nette, with dark -brown hair, darlv-gray eyes, hand- 
some face, and, when at maturity, of medium height 
and symmetrical form. And now, at the close of our 
ninety-first year, we still in memory behold her as 
standing before us reciting her lessons with a pleas- 
ant smile ; and also in the maturity of womanhood, 
when her affianced lord came to pay her that hom- 
age which soon terminated in a matrimonial alliance. 

General Lee, in his kind letter to us, was pleased to \ 
express the belief that this extraordinary man, ' Stone- 
wall ' Jackson, was indebted to us, more or less, as the 
instructor of his mother." 

Jonathan Jackson began housekeeping with his 
young wife in a neat brick cottage of three rooms, 
which he built for a law office, intending in the future 
to erect a more commodious dwelling for his family 
on the front of the large, grassy lot. But his pecun- 
iary misfortunes and untimely death prevented the 
realization of this hope. His four children were all 
born in the cottage, and it was preserved as the birth- 
place of General Jackson until a few years since, 
when the lot became so valuable with the growth of 
the town that the owner tore down the little cottage, 
and built a business house upon the ground. 

Jonathan was a successful lawyer, especially as a 
pleader in the chancery courts, and with the comfort- 
able patrimony which he had inherited from his 
father he had "a promising future; but, being of a 
free, generous, and incautious nature, he became deep- 
ly involved by giving security for others, and when 
he was cut down in the meridian of life every vestige 
of his property was swept away. He was an affec- 



12 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

tionate and devoted husband and father, and lost his 
life by a malignant fever which he contracted in nurs- 
ing his eldest child, Elizabeth, who died of the same 
disease two weeks before her father. The three 
children that survived him were Warren, Thomas 
Jonathan, and Laura. Ilis son Thomas, after reach- 
ing the age of manhood, erected monuments over the 
graves of his father and little sister in the cemetery 
at Clarksburg. 

Clarksburg is a pretty and thriving town, situated 
in a picturesque country, and some of the Jackson 
family still live there and keep up the name with 
credit and honor. At Parkersburg also are found 
many of General Jackson's kindred on both sides of 
the house, who are noted for their enterprise, cultiva- 
tion, and warm-hearted hospitality. 

Several members of Edward Jackson's large family, 
in physical stature, showed what they inherited from 
their grandmother, Elizaljeth Cummins. 

One of her descendants, who bore the singular name 
of Keturn Meigs, was six feet and seven inches in 
height, and was proportionately strong and ])owerful. 
There is a little romance in the family about the way 
he got his name. When his father was engaged to 
be married, an unfortunate misunderstanding led to 
a temporary separation, whicli weighed so hai-d on the 
disconsolate lover that when the object of his devo- 
tion relented and said. '• Return, Meigs,'' he declared 
those were the sweetest words that ever fell upon his 
ears, and he therefore commemorated his crownins: 
happiness by giving his first son this unique name. 

Cummins Jackson was also of lofty statui-e, and was 
noted for his herculean strength, which it is said he 



STRENGTH IX OLD AGE. 



13 



proved by lifting a barrel of cider and taking a drink 
from the bung-hole ; and, more marvellous still, that 
he could take up a barrel of flour under each one of 
his arms and carry them out of his mill ! 

One of his sisters, Mrs. White, known in the fam- 
ily as "Aunt Katie," was as remarkable as were the 
brothers, for her size, physical strength, and wonder- 
ful industry. In her old age, when she thought her 
natural force was much abated, she was known to 
spin upon her spinning-wheel twenty-eight "cuts"j)f 
flax a day, in addition to milking her cows ! Twelve 
cuts a day was the usual task for servants. 




FATHER OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
(From a painted miaiatQre.) 



CHAPTER II. 

"THE BOY IS FATHER OF THE MAN." 

Thomas Jonathan Jackson, the subject of this me- 
moir, was born in the town of Clarksburg, Virginia, 
on the 21st of January, 182i ; at least, that was the 
supposed date of his birth, for in consequence of the 
early breaking-up of his father's family no record of 
the event was ever found, and he did not remember 
dates with accuracy. Clarksburg is now in the State 
of West Virginia ; but as he did not live to see the 
Old Dominion so cruelly sundered in twain, he died 
as he was born, a Virginian. 

He was only in his third year when his father died 
(of whom he was too young to have any remem- 
brance), and his mother was left a widow with three 
helpless children, without a home or means of sup- 
port. But her own and her husband's relations assist- 
ed her ; and as he had been an officer in the order of 
Freemasons (who had presented him with a gold medal 
in token of their respect), they now gave her a small 
house of only one room ; and in this humble abode, 
with her fatherless children, slie s])ent the greater part 
of the few years of her widowhood. Here she taught 
a little school, and also added to her support by sew- 
ing. The weight of the cares and struggles must have 
been veiy trying to her delicate frame ; but she found 
relief in spending a good deal of her time with her 



BIRTHPLACE. 



16 



father in Wood County ; and in the heat of summer 
she went to a jilace called "The Ridge," where her 
brother, Minor ^Y. Neale, always accompanied and 
remained with her. A friend wrote : " I met her in 
the summer of 1827, in AVood County. She was look- 



•'< ; J^. . '1- 




BlKl'llI'LACli OF GENERAI 

JACKSON, CLAUKSBURG, 

WEST VIRGINIA. 







ing as cheerful and ani- 
mated as usual, her easy, 
graceful manners and ]ileasant con- 
versation alwa^'s making her a wel- 
come guest." 

In the j'ear 1830 Mrs. Jackson was mari'ietl a sec- 
ond time, against the wishes of her friends, to Captain 
Blake B. Woodson, of Cumberland Count\% a lawyer 
of good education, and of social, popular manners ; but 
he was much her senior, and a widower without fort- 
une. The relatives of her first husband offered to 



16 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

help her if she would remain a widow, while warning 
her that if she married again they should have to take 
her children from her to support them. But all was 
of no avail, and the result was what they had pre- 
dicted. Though Captain Woodson was always kind 
to the children, his slender means were inadequate to 
the support of a family, and necessity soon compelled 
the poor mother to give up her two boys to the care 
of their father's relations. The youngest child, Laura, 
she kept with her, and after the marriage Cajitain 
Woodson removed to Fayette County, where he had 
received the appointment of clerk of the county. 

So Thomas, at the age of six j'ears, had to take 
leave of his mother, to be sent to the house of his 
uncle. It was a heart-breaking separation. He was 
at this time a rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed boy, with wav- 
ing brown hair, to whom she clung with all a moth- 
er's devotion. She had him mounted on horseback, 
behind one of his father's former slaves, good " Uncle 
Robinson," of whom he was very fond, and after pro- 
viding him with every comfort, and bidding him good- 
by, her yearning heart called him back once more, 
and, clasping him to her bosom, she gave vent to her 
feelings in a flood of tears. That parting he never 
forgot ; nor could he speak of it in after-years but 
with the utmost tenderness. Warren had been sent 
some time before to the home of his aunt, Mrs. Isaac 
Brake, who wished to relieve the mother of his sup- 
port, and she had consented on account of the greater 
temptations to the boy in town. Their mother lived 
only a little over a year after her second marriage, 
her delicate health completely giving way after the 
birth of a son, who was named Wirt. As she lingered 



HIS MOTHER'S GRAVE. 17 

several weeks, she sent for her two fatherless boj's, to 
receive her farewell and blessing; and her prayers, 
counsels, and triumphant death made an indelible im- 
pression upon the mind of Thomas, who was then 
seven years of age. In a letter announcing her death. 
Captain Woodson says : '' No Christian on earth, no 
matter what evidence he might have had of a happy 
hereafter, could have died with more fortitude. Per- 
fectly in her senses, calm and deliberate, she met her 
fate without a murmur or a strujjgle. Death for her 
had no sting ; the grave could claim no victory. I 
have known few women of equal, none of superior, 
merit." Her remains were buried near the famous 
" Hawk's Nest " of New Eiver, which her son visited 
in after-years, to find her grave and erect a mon- 
ument over it ; but nearly all who had known her 
during her brief residence there had passed away, 
and no one could be found who could point out the 
spot with certainty. After his return to his home 
in Lexington, he wrote to his aunt, Mrs. Neale, at 
Parkersburg : 

"Sept. 4th, 1855. 
" Though I have reached home, yet the pleasures 
enjoyed under your hospitable roof, and in your fam- 
ily circle, have not been dissipated. ... I stopped to 
see the Hawk's Nest, and the gentleman with whom I 
put up was at my mother's burial, and accompanied 
me to the cemetery for the purpose of pointing out 
her grave to me ; but I am not certain that he found 
it. There was no stone to mark the spot. Another 
gentleman, who had the kindness to go with us, stated 
that a wooden head or foot board with her name on 
2 



18 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

it had been put up, but it was no longer there. A 
depression in the earth only marked her resting-place. 
When standing by her grave, I experienced feelings 
to which I was until then a stranger. I was seeking 
the spot partly for the purpose of erecting something 
to her precious memory. On Saturday last I lost my 
porte-monnaie, and in it was the date of my mother s 
birth. Please give me the date in your next letter." 

It was left to the generous impulse of a Confederate 
soldier to do, after General Jackson's death, what he 
was so anxious to do himself, in preserving his mother's 
grave from oblivion. One who visited the sjxjt writes : 

" On the top of a beautiful wooded hill, near the 
mining village of Anstead, Favette Count v. West Yir- 
ginia, is an old graveyard, still used as a burying- 
place by the dwellers in this mountain region. It is 
greatly neglected, and many graves are scarcely to be 
found, tiiough a few are jjrotected by little pens of 
fence-rails. The location is so beautiful, and the view 
it commands so extensive and exquisite, that it is 
worthy of being well cared for. Among those who 
lie buried here is the mother of that noble Christian 
soldier, General Stonewall Jackson. This grave, or 
spot — for the grave is scarcely to be recognized — has 
been kindly cared for by Mr. Stevens M. Taylor, for- 
merly of Albemarle County. But no stone was erected 
until a gentleman of Staunton, Captain Thomas D. 
Ransom, one of his old soldiers, seeing the neu;lected 
condition of the grave, had prepared a simple but 
suitable monument — a tall slab of marble with an 
inscription, giving the dates of her birth and death, 



SEPARATED FROM BROTHER AND SISTER. 19 

and adding that it is ' a tribute to the mother of 
Stonewall Jackson, by one of his old brigade.' " 

Such a mother could not but leave a deep impres- 
sion upon the heart of such a son. To the latest hour 
of his life he cherished her memory. His recollections 
of her were of the sweetest and tenderest character. 
To his childhood's fancj' she was the embodiment of 
beauty, grace, and lovehness ; and when, a few months 
before his death, while he was in the midst of the 
army, a little daughter was born to him, he wrote that . 
he wished her to be called '• Julia,"' saying, " My moth- j 
er was mindful of me when I was a helpless, father-l 
less child, and I wish to commemorate her now." / 

After the death of their mother, the children were 
sent back to their Jackson relatives — Warren return- 
ing to Mrs. Brake, and Thomas and Laura finding a 
home for a time with their aunt, ilrs. "White, and later 
with their step-grandmother Jackson, who was always 
kind to them. Laura, who is still living, does not re- 
member that Thomas ever lived with either of their 
unclesin-law Brake, and says that it was their broth- 
er Warren, and not Thomas, who ran away when a 
little boy from his " uncle Brake, because they couldn't 
agree" — a statement which accords with the charac- 
ter of the boy. Thomas and Laura lived with their 
step-grandmother until her death ; and after the mar- 
riage of her two daughters, which left no ladies in the 
household, Laura was sent to find a home among her ' 
Neale relatives, and lived with them until she was 
married to Mr. Jonathan Arnold, of Beverly, West 
Virginia. Her two sons, Thomas Jackson and Stark 
W. Arnold, were the onl}' nephews of General Jackson. 



20 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The grandmother lived at the old Jackson home- 
stead, in Lewis County, and at her death her son 
Cummins became the head of the house ; and being a 
large-hearted, generous man, he not only kept Thom- 
as with him to rear and educate, but he also gave War- 
ren a home after he ran away from his uncle Brake. 
The story runs that this boy, Warren, when only nine 
or ten years old, left the house of Mr. Brake, who had 
offended him by sternness, and walked four or five 
miles into the town of Clarksburg to the house of 
Judge Jackson, his father's cousin, and asked Mrs. 
Jackson to give him his dinner. While eating at the 
table he very quietly said : " Uncle Brake and I don't 
agree; I have quit him, and shall not go back any 
more." Mrs. Jackson was surprised and, disa])prov- 
ing of such independence in so young a lad, tried to 
persuade him to return, but his unvarying answer was : 
" No, he and I don't agree ; I have quit him, and shall 
not go back any more." He then went to the house 
of another cousin, asked if he could spend the night, 
and told her the same story. The next day he walked 
eighteen miles all alone, to the home of his uncle Cum- 
mins, who received him with great kindness, and the 
two orphan boj^s were very happy at being together 
under the same roof. Here the three children went 
to school, when there were any schools in the neigh- 
borhood, and Thomas and Laura spent much time 
in play, he always having a care over his little sister. 
He was a cheerful boy, and, his sister says, sang a great 
deal ; but in after-years he did not show any musical 
talent, though very fond of hearing music. 

The boyhood of Jackson showed that, truly, 
" The child is futber of the man," 



BROTHER AND SISTER TOGETHER. 21 

for it was marked by the same energy, determination, 
and perseverance that were to distinguish him in his 
future career. No matter what he undertook, whether 
of work or play, he " never gave up." At school, one 
day, during recess, he became absorbed in making a 
cornstalk fiddle, and when the bell rang for resuming 
study he worked away as if he did not hear it, totally 
oblivious of his duty to return to his lessons. Laura was 
sent to call him, but his reply was, " Wait till I finish 
this fiddle !" and not until the teacher went out and 
compelled obedience did he relinquish his task. 

The children wandered all over the farm, and en- 
gaged in maijy youthful enterprises, one of which was 
the making of maple sugar. The trees stood on the 
other side of a creek which had no bridge over it, but, 
nothing daunted, our young hero went to work and 
framed a little raft, upon which he and Laura would 
cross daily, and busy themselves in drawing the sap 
and boiling down the sugar. In after -years, when 
he became the leader of armies, he often had occa- 
sion to build bridges across streams for his troops, in 
which he showed the same indomitable perseverance 
in overcoming obstacles that he had shown when a 
boy. 

Laura followed him everywhere, even in his rabbit 
hunts, in which he was quite an expert. After run- 
ning a rabbit into a hollow log, he would place Laura 
at one end and himself at the other, and in this way 
they often caught the little creatures with their hands. 
He busied himself in making rabbit-snares, bird-traps, 
and in other rustic diversions. In his childhood he 
was extravagantl}' fond of the violin, and after com- 
ing into possession of one of his own he made faithful 



22 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

efiForts to learn to play upon it, but, not being endowed 
with the gift of music, this was one of the few things 
he attempted in which he did not succeed. When a 
boy, he did learn a few songs, among them a military 
one, called " Napoleon's Ketreat." 

This united, happy life of the little brother and sis- 
ter did not continue more than a year or two, when 
they were separated, never to have the same home 
again. But he cherished a warm attachment for her, 
and kept up the most affectionate relations with her 
as long as he lived. With money he saved from his 
pay at West Point he bought her a silk dress as a pres- 
ent upon his return home during his first vacation. 

Cummins Jackson was a bachelor of middle age, 
and being a man of independent fortune and a kind 
heart, he was disposed to do all in his power for War- 
ren and Thomas. The latter, it is said, was his favor 
ite, and he could not have been treated with more kind- 
ness if he had been his own son. He gave the lads 
all the advantages of education his countj'^ afforded, 
though these were not great in that new and uniua- 
proved region. It was the custom to have schools for 
only about three months during the winter season, so 
the boys were engaged during the remainder of the 
year in assisting their uncle in the operations of the 
farm and mills. 

At school Thomas was studious and persevering, 
showing a great desire to make the best of his advan- 
tages ; but Warren was the reverse, and as he grew 
up his strong will, which had never been controlled, 
and his independent and restless spirit impelled him 
to launch out for himself and seek his own fortune. 
His uncle thought it best not to thwart him in this, 



IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE. 23 

and so the boy left this kind uncle and good home 
when he was about fourteen years of age. But the 
saddest part of this exodus was, that he persuaded his 
young brother, of only twelve, to accompany him. 
Thomas was very reluctant to go, for he loved his un- 
cle, and was happy in his free and bountiful home; 
but his affection for Warren, and perhaps the latter's 
authority over him as an elder brother, were too great 
to be resisted. They went first to the home of their 
uncle Alfred Neale, who lived on James Island, in the 
Ohio, and were most kindly received by him and his 
good wife ; but as this uncle prescribed for them the 
same excellent discipline as their uncle Cummins — 
that they should work on the farm and go to school — 
Warren again rebelled, and spread his unfledged wings 
for a flight farther down the Ohio, taking Thomas 
with him. 

Several months passed, and their friends heard noth- 
ing of the young wanderers ; but in the autumn they 
came back, like repentant prodigals, glad enough to 
return to kindred and friends, but in such a sad plight 
that it was touching to see them. Their clothes were 
worn and soiled from travel, and their faces bore the 
marks of sickness and suffering. Their story was that, 
after floating down the Ohio, and earning their hving 
as best they could, they landed on a small island in 
the Mississippi, near the southwestern corner of Ken- 
tucky. Here they spent the summer alone, and sup- 
ported themselves by cutting wood for the passing 
steamboats. 

Their lodging-place was a miserable cabin, and the 
island being exceedingly malarious, they contracted 
chiUs and fever, which made such ravages upon their 



24 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

tender frames that they could stand it no longer; so 
by the kindness of a captain, who gave them passage 
on his boat, they were enabled to reach home — no 
doubt wiser, if not better, for their escapade. 

Thomas determined at once to return to his uncle 
Cummins, where the comforts of home and the fine air 
of his native climate soon restored him to his wonted 
health and strength, and here he remained until he re- 
ceived an appointment as a cadet at West Point. 

But Warren was too proud or ashamed to seek 
again the shelter of a roof which he had so rashly 
left, so he went to the house of his aunt, Mrs. Isaac 
Brake, which had been his home after his separation 
from his mother, where he received the kindest treat- 
ment ; but he never recovered from the effects of the 
exposure and hardships encountered during that disas- 
trous trip, and after lingering a few years he died of 
consumption at the age of nineteen. Before his deatli 
he sent for Thomas and Laura to come and see him 
once more, and, mounted on horseback, they rode 
across the country to pay this last visit to their dying 
brother. They found that this long illness, with the 
influence of his sainted mother, had changed the un- 
governed boy to such gentleness and submission that 
he no longer wished to live, but was able to depart in 
perfect peace. 

After the wholesome experience of his adventurous 
trip down the Ohio, and the recovery of his health, 
Thomas showed a greate': desire than ever for self- 
improvement, and he became a valuable assistant to 
his uncle in the management of his farm and mills. 
Classical academies had not then been introduced into 
that part of the country, but there were good English 



OVERSEER OF WORKMEN ON THE FARM. 25 

schools ; and he was a diligent, plodding scholar, hav- 
ing a strong mind, though it was slow in development. 
In arithmetic he was quick, and found no difRculty in 
excelhng his classmates; but in his other studies he 
had to work hard, yet he always " stuck to it " with a 
tenacity that would not "let go." He never left a 
lesson unmastered, and if he had not been able to 
finish a task with his class, he would, when his time 
came to recite, acknowledge frankly that he knew 
nothing of that lesson, not having yet perfected the 
previous one. In this way he sometimes fell behind 
his class ; but as he had a retentive memory, the knowl- 
edo'e that he gained with so much labor was indelibly 
impressed upon his mind. 

His temper as a boy was cheerful and generous, and 
his truthfulness was proverbial. There was an in- 
stinctive courtesy in his conduct; his sense of justice 
was verj" strong, and as long as he met with fair treat- 
ment from his associates, he was gentle and peace- 
able; bat he was quick to resent an insult, and in 
a boyish combat would never yield to defeat. He 
was a ringleader in boyish sports, an expert in 
climbing and jumping ; and whenever he was captain 
in any game his side was pretty sure to come off 
victorious. 

In the management of his uncle's farm and mills, 
Thomas early learned to put his young shoulders to 
the wheel, and he soon proved so capable that he was 
intrusted with the duties of overseer of the laborers in 
getting the largest trees out of the forest, and convey- 
ing them to the mill to be sawed into lumber, in all 
which he showed great intelligence as well as endur- 
ance and eflBciency. 



26 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

This free and active life was well adapted to both 
his physical and moral development, and as his uncle 
treated him as a companion, trusting and relying upon 
him, he grew very manly and independent for a youth 
in his teens. His bachelor uncles, it appears, were 
fond of sport, of fox hunts and horee racing. His 
uncle kept a number of blooded horses, and had a four- 
mile race-track on his farm, and " Thomas," as he 
always called him, was his trainer, and so well taught 
was he to ride that he was never thrown. Naturally 
he came to share in the pleasures of the chase, and to 
ride his uncle's racers as soon as he was old enough. 
With his determination to succeed in everything he 
undertook, he did not fail in this accomplishment, for 
his neighboi-s said. " If a horse had any winning quali- 
ties whatever in him, Tom Jackson never failed to 
bring them out on the turf I" But though he won 
races for his uncle, and won a good deal of money, he 
never had the least propensity to the vices that belong 
to sporting characters. 

TVhen riding home late one night, he was startled 
at beholding a tall white spectre flitting across the road. 
The horse became frightened and plungetl backward ; 
and Thomas confessed that at fii-st he, too, was some- 
what dismayed at such a ghostly apparition, but, deter- 
mining to conquer all fear, he put whip and spurs to 
his horse and forced him to gallop past the object of 
terror, which he soon discovered, from the shouts of 
laughter from the roadside., was one of his uncles, who 
had tried to play a joke upon him by wrajiping him- 
self in a sheet and taking his stand at the foot of a 
hiU he was to pass. 

This free life he could enjoy without being at all 



WILL, COURAGE, AND TEXACITY. 2T 

spoiled by it ; and though he spoke of himself as hav- 
ing been " a wild boy," he was always noted for his 
uprightness, honesty, industry, and truth. In his after- 
years he was not disposed to talk much of his child- 
hood and youth, for the reason that it was the saddest 
period of his life. He had been very early left an or- 
phan. Losing first his father and then his mother, he 
had no home life, but grew up among remoter kin- 
dred. All this made the memory so sad that he sel- 
dom referred to it. 

One who knew him at this time says : " He was a 
youth of exemplary habits, of indomitable will and 
undoubted courage. He possessed in an eminent de- 
gree a talent for mathematics, and was unwilling, while 
at school, to acknowledge his incapacity — 'give him 
time' — to solve any proposition. He was not what 
is nowadays termed brilliant, but he was one of those 
untiring, matter-of-fact persons who would never give 
up when he engaged in an undertaking until he ac- 
complished his object. He learned slowly, but when 
he got learning into his head, he never forgot it. He 
was not quick to decide, except when excited, and 
then when he made up his mind to do a thing, he did 
it on short notice and in quick time. Thus, while on 
his way to school, an overgrown rustic behaved rudely 
to one of the school-girls. Jackson was fired at his 
cowardly conduct, and told him he must apologize at 
once, or he would 'thrash him.' The big fellow, sup- 
posing that he was an overmatch for him, refused, 
whereupon Jackson pitched into him, and gave him a 
severe pounding." 

This manly and independent spirit impelled him at 
an early age to seek a support for himself, and his 



28 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

friends procured for bini the position of constable of 
Lewis County. He was but eighteen years old, and it 
was contrary to law that a minor should hold this 
office, but the influence and guarantee of his uncle, 
with his own good character, overcame this objection. 
At this time his health was somewhat impaired, and 
it was hoped that the out-door life and horseback ex- 
ercise would invigorate him. The duties of the office 
required both courage and determination, qualities 
that he soon showed that he possessed. Prom]5t in 
meeting his own engagements, he enforced the same 
upon others. Collecting debts is always a thankless 
task, but it had to be done ; and Jackson did it kindly, 
but firmly. In one case a man had made repeated 
promises to pay, but would never keep an appoint- 
ment for the pur])ose. After exacting one more 
promise that he would pay, vjithovtfail, upon a cer- 
tain day, the young constable pledged himself to the 
creditor that on that day he should have his money. 
The day came, and the constable and creditor were on 
band, but the debtor was again missing, and was not 
seen in the village all day. The young deputy, how- 
ever, had given his word, and kept it by paying the 
money out of his own pocket. The next morning the 
delinquent appeared upon the scene, riding a fine 
horse, but as the custom of the country did not per- 
mit a man's hoi-se to be taken from him while he was 
on his bade, the young officer waited until he saw the 
man dismount, and then, reproaching him for his 
breach of faith, he seized the horse. Tlie man re- 
sisted, and a furious struggle followed, during which 
he succeeded in remounting. This at first discon- 
certed Jackson, but, not to be outwitted by this 



DEATH OF CXCLE CUMMINS. 29 

manoeuvre, he held on to the bridle, and seeing near 
by a stable door standing open, he led the horse up 
to it, and quietly told the man he must " get off or 
be knocked off," the door being too low for him to 
go through on horseback. Thus the fugitive was fairly 
caught, and after resisting and begging, he finally 
slipped off and left the horse in the possession of the 
young representative of the law. 

But this business was distasteful to Jackson, and 
he gladly resigned it on receiving an appointment to 
the Military Academy at West Point. 

Before closing this chapter, it may be of interest, 
although it will be anticipating a few years, to know 
the end of the good Uncle Cummins, who was a 
second father to Thomas in his boyhood. After 
the close of the Mexican war and the annexation of 
California, the discovery of gold created great excite- 
ment throughout the country, and caused a tide of 
emigration to the Far West. Catching the popular 
enthusiasm, and inflamed, perhaps, with a spirit of 
adventure, this uncle, though in his fiftieth year, 
left his Virginia home and travelled by wagon-train 
across the plains, but lived only a few months after 
reaching the Pacific coast. Ilis nephew, Thomas, 
inherited a few hundred dollars from his estate, which 
he gave to his aunt, Mrs. White, who was then in 
straitened circumstances, in gratitude for having given 
him a home when he was first separated from his 
motlier. 



CHAPTER III. 

FOUR YEARS AT WEST POINT— 1842-1846. 

While the young Virginian was riding over the 
hills of his native county, enforcing the law, he was 
dreaming of other things. A desire for knowl- 
edge had been the passion of his youth. With the 
pride of descent from a family that had stood high in 
the country round, he felt deeply the disadvantages 
which his early orphanage and poverty had entailed 
upon him, and was ambitious to make a position for 
himself, and keep up the prestige of his name. He 
had determined to earn the means to jirocure a liberal 
education, when tlie opportunity came in a way he 
had not anticipated. A 3'oung man from the Con- 
gressional district in which he lived had received 
an appointment to the Militar}^ Academy at West 
Point, but after entering had found tliat the disci- 
pline and the hard study were too severe to suit his 
self-indulffent tastes, and resigned in disgust and re- 
turned home. Of course, this was the talk of the 
neighborhood ; and one day that Uncle Cummins was 
having his horse shod, the blacksmith looked up and 
said : " Kow here is a gow.1 chance for Tom Jackson, 
as he is so anxious to get an education." His uncle 
caught at the suggestion, and going home told his 
nephew of the opportunity to get a cadetship at West 
Point, which fired his heart with such eager hope that 



APPOINTED TO WEST POINT. 31 

he began at once his efforts to secure the vacant posi- 
tion. He had many friends who had observed his manly 
spirit, and were ready to help him ; and all joined in a 
letter to the Hon. Samuel Hays, member of Congress 
from the district, asking him to use his influence to have 
him appointed. Of a prominent lawyer connected with 
his own family, the young applicant felt at liberty to 
request a more confidential testimonial, but he was 
asked " if he did not fear that his education was not 
sufficient to enable him to enter and sustain himself at 
West Point." For a moment his countenance fell, but, 
looking up, he replied : " I know that I shall have the 
application necessar}' to succeed ; I hope that I have 
the capacity ; at least, I am determined to try, and I 
want you to help me." This friend did help him, and 
wrote a letter of hearty commendation, in which he 
dwelt especially upon his courage and resolution. As 
soon as the letters were despatched to Washington, he 
began to review his studies, in which he was assisted 
by a lawyer in Weston, who made it a labor of love. 
In due time the answer came from Mr. Hays, promis- 
ing to do all in his power to secure the appointment, 
and Jackson resolved at once to go to Washington, to 
be ready to proceed to West Point without a mo- 
ment's delay. So eager was he to start that he did 
not wait for any preparations, but, packing his plain 
wardrobe into a pair of saddle-bags, he mounted a 
horse near sundown, and, accompanied by a servant 
who was to bring the horse home, hurried off to 
Clarksburg to catch the stage-coach. Upon his arrival 
he found that the coach had already passed, but, 
nothing daunted, he galloped on and overtook it at 
the next stopping-place, and continued his journey. 



32 LIFE OF GENERAL TUOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Arrived at Washington, he went straight to Mr. 
Hays, who showed his interest and kindness by taking 
him immediately to the Secretary of War ; and in pre- 
senting him, explained the disadvantages of his educa- 
tion, but begged for him favor on account of his manly 
determination. The Secretary plied him with ques- 
tions, and an eye-witness describes the parley between 
tliem as being "gruff and heroic, but, with the grit of 
Old Hickory, this young Jackson was neither to be 
bluffed nor driven from his purpose," and so much 
pleased was the Secretary with his manliness and 
resolution that he gave him the apppointment and 
said to him : " Sir, you have a good name. Go to 
West Point, and the first man who insults you knock 
him down, and have it charged to my account !" 

Mr. Hays kindly invited him to spend a few days 
with him in Washington to see the city, but with the 
one all-absorbing thought now in his mind of that 
long-desired education coming within his grasp, he de- 
clined, saying that one view from the top of the Capi- 
tol would be all that he could treat himself to at that 
time. Accordingly he ascended the dome, and took a 
view of the magnificent panorama before him, and 
then immediately proceeded on his journey. 

Mr. Hays gave him a letter of introduction to the 
facultv, bearing testimony to his excellent character 
and courageous spirit, and asking that due allowance 
be made for his limited education ; and his letter had 
such weight that the authorities were very lenient in 
their examination, and he was admitted. Here then, 
in June, 1842, at the age of eighteen, we find him 
where he bad so longed to be, a cadet in the Military 
Academy at West Point. His friends had done for 



FOUR YEARS AS A CADET. 33 

hira all they could ; henceforth his career was to de- 
pend upon himself. 

When he entered upon his studies, he was made at 
once to feel his deficiency in preparation. An old 
friend and fellow-classmate says : " He had a rough 
time in the Academy at first, for his want of previous 
training placed him at a great disadvantage, and it 
was all he could do to pass his first examination. We 
were studj'ing algebra, and maybe analytical geome- 
try, that winter, and Jackson was very low in his class 
standing. All lights were put out at ' taps,' and just 
before the signal he would pile up his grate with an- 
thracite coal, and, lying prone before it on the floor, 
would work away at his lessons by the glare of the 
fire, which scorched his very brain, till a late hour of 
the night. This evident determination to succeed not 
only aided his own efforts directly, but impressed his 
instructors in his favor, and he rose steadily year by 
year, till we used to say : ' If we had to stay here 
another j^ear, "old Jack" would be at the head of 
the class.' ... I believe he went through the very 
trying ordeal of the four years at West Point without 
ever having a hard word or a bad feeling from cadet 
or professor ; and while there were many who seemed 
to surpass him in the graces of intellect, in geniality, 
and in good-fellowship, there was no one of our class 
who more absolutely possessed the respect and confi- 
dence of all." 

He himself said that he " studied very hard for what 
he got at West Point," and after entering and seeing 
the amount of study he had to do, and the large num- 
ber of cadets who failed annually, he fully expected 
to be dismissed at the close of his first year, and in 
3 



34 I-IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

anticipation he endured all the mortification of going 
home and being laughed at ; and he even prepared 
what he would sa}^ to his young friends, intending to 
tell them, " If they had been there, and found it as 
hard as he did, they would have failed too." He was 
alwa3's amused when speaking of this period of his 
life, and of the importance he then attached to the 
opinions of his young friends and companions. But 
to his surprise he passed his first year, and from that 
time he made steady progress until at the end of four 
years he graduated, seventeenth in a large and distin- 
guished class of over seventy. Among his classmates 
were Generals McClellan, Foster, Reno, Stoneman, 
Couch, and Gibbon, of the Federal army ; and Generals 
A. P. Hill, Pickett, Maury, D. R. Jones, W. D. Smith, 
and "Wilcox, of the Confederate army. 

AVhen he went to "West Point he was fresh and 
ruddy in complexion, but had not yet attained his full 
height, and is described as being a slender lad, who 
Avalked rapidly, with his head bent forward. He had 
a grave, thoughtful face; but when anything interested 
or excited him his form became erect, his eyes flashed 
like steel, and a smile, as sweet as a woman's, would 
illumine his whole face." The life he led there, and 
the constant exercise of drilling, soon developed his 
frame, and he became very erect, grew rajiidly, and 
presented a fine, soldierly appearance. The habits of 
neatness and system which are taught at "West Point 
clung to him through life, and punctuality' was ever 
regarded by him as a virtue. In his intercourse with 
his associates he was not sociable, except with a few 
congenial friends ; but he was invariably kind and 
courteous to all, and alwa\'s ready to aid in nursing 



RULES OF MORALS AND MANNERS. 35 

the sick and in helping those who were in trouble. 
During his second year he was known to receive some 
demerits, which he had not incurred himself, but he 
chose rather to bear the blame silently than to expose 
those who had unjustly cast it upon him. He said he 
did not remember to have spoken to a lady during the 
whole time he was at West Point, but he devoted him- 
self with all his mind and soul to his studies, giving 
but little time or thought to anything else. After his 
arduous daily studies, he found recreation in walking, 
and with a companion or alone he wandered over the 
beautiful hills and valleys around West Point, and de- 
lighted in climbing Fort Putnam, or " Old Put," as 
the cadets called this great cliff, which is a very strik- 
ing feature in the scenery, and from which he greatly 
enjoyed the fine view of the majestic river, and the 
varied and lovely landscape. 

While at West Point he compiled in a private blank- 
book, for his own use, a set of rules and maxims re- 
lating to morals, manners, dress, choice of friends, and 
the aims of life. Perhaps the most characteristic of 
these maxims was, " You may he whatever you resolve 
to he f but others will show the standards by which 
he shaped his own conduct and character : 

"Through life let your principal object be the dis- 
charge of duty. — Disregard public opinion when it 
interferes with your duty. — Endeavor to be at peace 
with all men. — Sacrifice your life rather than your 
word. — Endeavor to do well everything which j'ou 
undertake. — Never speak disrespectfully of any one 
without a cause. — Spare no effoit to suppress selfish- 
ness, unless that effort would entail sorrow. — Let your 



36 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

conduct towards men have some uniformity. — Temper- 
ance : Eat not to dulness, drink not to elevation. — Si- 
lence: Speak but what ma}' benefit others or your- 
self; avoid trifling conversation. — Resolve to perform 
what you ought ; perforni without fail what you re- 
solve. — Frugality : Make no expense but to do good 
to others or yourself ; waste nothing. — Industry: Lose 
no time; be alwaj's employed in something useful; cut 
off unnecessarj' actions. — Sincerity : Use no hurtful 
deceit ; think innocently and justly, and if you speak, 
speak accordingly. — Justice : Wrong no man by doing 
injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 
— Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting in- 
juries as much as you think they deserve. Cleanli- 
ness: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or 
habitation. Tranquillity : Be not disturbed at trifles, 
nor at accidents, common or unavoidable. 



^) 



" Motives to action : 1. Regard to your own happi- 
ness. 2. Regard for the family to which you belong. 
3. Strive to attain a very great elevation of charac- 
ter. 4. Fix upon a high standard of action and char- 
acter. 

" It is man's highest interest not to violate, or attempt 
to violate, the rules which Infinite Wisdom has laid 
down. The means by which men are to attain great 
elevation may be classed in three divisions — jihysical, 
mental, and moral. Whatever relates to health, be- 
longs to the first; whatever relates to the improve- 
ment of the mind, belongs to the second. The for- 
mation of good manners and virtuous habits consti- 
tutes the third. 



POLITENESS AND GOOD-BREEDING. 37 

" Choice of Friends. 1. A man is known by the 
company he keeps. 2. Be cautious in yom* selection. 
3. There is danger of catching the habits of your as- 
sociates. 

" 4. Seek those who are intelligent and virtuous ; 
and, if possible, those who are a little above you, es- 
pecially in moral excellence. 

" 5. It is not desirable to have a large number of 
intimate friends ; you may have many acquaintances, 
but few intimate friends. If you have one who is 
what he should be, you are comparatively happy. 

" That friendship may be at once fond and lasting, 
there must not only be equal virtue in each, but virtue 
of the same kind : not only the same end must be pro- 
posed, but the same means must be approved." 

He had also copied the following rules from a 
book of etiquette on Politeness and Good-breeding : 

"Good-breeding, or true politeness, is the art of 
showing men by external signs the internal regard 
we have for them. It arises from good sense, im- 
proved by good company. It must be acquired by 
practice and not by books. 

" Be kind, condescending, and affable. Any one who 
has anything to say to a fellow-being, to say it Avith 
kind feelings and sincere desire to please ; and this, 
whenever it is done, will atone for much awkwardness 
in the manner of expression. 

" Good-breeding is opposed to selfishness, vanity, or 
pride. Never weary your company by talking too 
long or too frequently. Always look people in the 
face when addressing them, and generally when they 



38 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

address you. Never engross tbe whole conversation 
to yourself. Say as little of yourself and friends as 
possible. 

" Make it a rule never to accuse without due con- 
sideration any body or association of men. Kever try 
to appear more wise or learned than the rest of the 
company. Not that j^ou should affect ignorance, but 
endeavor to remain within your own proper sphere." 

During these four years at the Military Academy 
he had but one personal difficulty. This was caused 
by another cadet changing his uncleaned musket for 
Jackson's, which was always kept in perfect order. 
The trick was very soon discovered by the latter, 
whose suspicion fell at once upon the real culprit ; but 
as his gun fortunately had a private mark upon it, he 
knew it could be identified ; so after telling the cap- 
tain of the circumstances, he quietly bided his time 
until that evening at the inspection of arms, when his 
clean, shining musket was found in the hands of the 
man whom he had suspected, who, when he was ac- 
cused of tbe dishonorable deed, attempted to shield 
himself by telling a falsehood. Jackson, who was 
disgusted with the indolence and meanness of the ca- 
det, declared that he was a disgrace to the Academy, 
and that he would have him court-martialled and dis- 
missed. It was only by the urgent remonstrance of 
both cadets and professors that he could be induced 
to give up his determination. The disgrace of the 
young man overtook him, however, in a short time 
after, when he was expelled from the Academy for 
violating his parole of honor. 

Jackson graduated on the 30th of June, 18i6, at the 



HE GRADUATES FROM WEST POINT. 39 

age of twenty-two years, and received the brevet rank 
of second lieutenant of artillery. His attachment to 
his Alma Mater was very strong, and upon revisiting 
the place, on a bridal tour, in the summer of 1857, his 
delight was unbounded. The reunion with his old 
professors and brother-officers was most cordial and 
gratifying, and with the latter he had long talks and 
many hearty laughs over old barrack reminiscences. 
At the dawn of day he was off to climb the heights 
of Fort Putnam, and once more to enjoy the view 
of the Hudson, winding among the hills and dales of 
that enchanting region. There was scarcely a spot 
that he did not visit in and around West Point. 



CHAPTER lY. 

THE WAR WITH MEXICO— 1846-1848. 

When young Jackson graduated at West Point, the 
war with Mexico had begun, and his whole class was 
ordered to proceed at once to the scene of action. Our 
lieutenant had orders to report immediately for duty 
with the First Regiment of Artillery, and went direct- 
ly to New Orleans, from which he sailed for Mexico. 
General "Winfield Scott was the commander-in-chief 
of the army of the United States. The war contin- 
ued two years, and Jackson was in most of the battles 
that were fought from Vera Cruz to the fall of the 
capital, which ended hostilities. 

On the 9th of March, 1847, thirteen thousand five 
hundred men landed in one day upon the open beach 
near Vera Cruz ; and as they disembarked from the 
many vessels of the squadron, under a cloudless sky, 
and marched in perfect order, with martial music 
and coloi's tlying, amid the cheers of the enthusiastic 
soldiers, and took their positions by sunset, it was a 
spectacle that impressed Lieutenant Jackson as ex- 
ceeding in brilliance and animation any that he had 
ever witnessed. The city was taken in a few days, 
and in the battle Captain John Bankhead Magruder 
greatly distinguished himself as commander of his bat- 
tery of light field artillery. He was a veiy strict dis- 
ciplinarian, and the position of second lieutenant being 



THE BATTLE OF CHERDBCSCO. 41 

vacant in his battery, there were not many young offi- 
cers who desired the place. But Jackson, who saw that 
its dangers and hardships offered advantages for quick 
promotion, ajjplied for and received the appointment. 
Magruder was a daring officer, always in the thickest 
of the light, where his dash and heroism won him great 
distinction, in which his subordinates were bound to 
share, and, of course, had the opportunity of winning 
glory for themselves. 

In the battle of Cherubusco Captain Magruder lost 
his first lieutenant, Mr. Johnstone, early in the action ; 
and as Jackson had to take his place, he was advanced 
next in command to the captain, whom we will leave 
to describe the manner in which his young lieutenant 
acquitted himself. In his official report. Captain Ma- 
gruder says ; " In a few moments, Lieutenant Jack- 
son, commanding the second section of the battery, 
who had opened fire upon the enemy's works from a 
position on the right, hearing our fire still further in 
front, advanced in handsome style, and being assigned 
by me to the post so gallantly filled by Lieutenant 
Johnstone, kept up the fire with great briskness and 
effect. His conduct was equally conspicuous during 
the whole day, and I cannot too highly commend him 
to the major-general's favorable consideration." For 
his gallantry in this battle he was promoted to the 
brevet rank of captain. 

In storming the Castle of Chapultepec, Captain Ma- 
gruder again compliments him highly, and recom- 
mends him for promotion thus : " I beg leave to call 
the attention of the major-general commanding to the 
conduct of Lieutenant Jackson of the First Artillery. 
If devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry are the 



42 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

highest qualities of a soldier, then is he entitled to 
the distinction which their possession confers. I have 
been ably seconded in all the operations of the bat- 
tery by him ; and upon this occasion, when circum- 
stances placed him in command, for a short time, of 
an independent section, he proved himself eminently 
worthy of it." 

General Scott, in his official report, makes honora- 
ble mention of the part young Jackson bore in this 
assault, and Generals Pillow and Worth both add their 
testimony to his meritorious conduct. General Pillow 
says : " The advanced section of the batter}^ under 
command of the brave Lieutenant Jackson, was dread- 
fully cut up, and almost disabled. . . . Captain Ma- 
gruder's battery, one section of which was served 
with great gallantry by himself and the other by his 
brave lieutenant, Jackson, in face of a galling fire 
from the enemy's position, did invaluable service." 

General Worth speaks of him as " the gallant Jack- 
son, who, although he had lost most of his horses and 
many of his men, continued chivalrously at his post, 
combating with noble courage." 

A brother officer, who was not only an eye-witness, 
but an actor in the storming of Chapultepec, gives 
the following details of Jackson's part in the as- 
sault : 

" Lieutenant Jackson's section of Magruder's battery 
was subjected to a plunging fire from the Castle of Cha- 
pultepec. The little six-pounders could effect nothing 
against the guns of the Mexicans, of much heavier cali- 
bre, firing from an elevation. The horses were killed 
or disabled, and the men became so demoralized that 



THE STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 43 

they deserted the guns and sought shelter behind a 
wall or embankment. Lieutenant Jackson remained 
at the guns, walking back and forth, and kept saying, 
' See, there is no danger ; I am not hit !' While stand- 
ing with his legs wide apart, a cannon-ball passed be- 
tween them; and this fact probably prevented him 
from having any confidence in what the soldiers 
playfully called being ' stung by a bomb.' The assault- 
ing columns for the storming of Chapultepec consisted 
of 250 regulars from Twiggs's Division and 250 regu- 
lars from "Worth's. These were all volunteers for the 
forlorn hope. The officers and non-commissioned offi- 
cers were induced to volunteer by the promise of pro- 
motion, and the men by the promise of pecuniary re- 
ward. The rifle regiment under Colonel Persifer F. 
Smith, the Palmetto Regiment, and the Marine Bat- 
tahon under Major Twiggs (brother of the general) 
supported the storming party from Twiggs's Division. 
When the castle was captured, many of the stormers 
dispersed in search of plunder and liquor. A few pur- 
sued promptly the retreating column of Mexicans. 
Lieutenants D. H. Hill and Barnard Bee followed 
down the causeway towards the Garita of San Cosme. 
Every shot told on the huddled and demoralized thou- 
sands of Mexicans, but their fire back upon the thirsty, 
pursuing Americans was harmless. After the chase 
had been continued over a mile. Lieutenant Jackson 
came up with two pieces of artillery, and joined the 
two young officers. They now pressed on vigorously. 
Captain Magruder himself soon appeared with cais- 
sons and men, but no additional guns. He expressed 
a fear of losing the two guns, as the division of Gen- 
eral Worth was far in the rear, but he yielded to the 



44 LIfE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

solicitations of the young men, and continue*! the 
march. Shortly after the arrival of Captain Magni- 
der a ivlunin of two thousjind cavalry, under Genenil 
Anipudia, made a ilemonstration of chai-ging ujK>n the 
guns. They were unlimbereil. and a rapid tire was 
o{vnotl ujK)n the Mexicans, who retreateii without at- 
tacking the artillery. It was not judge*! prudent to 
pnxxHHl farther, and tlie command hidteil until (.it?n- 
eral Worth came up. The }x»rt played later in the 
day by the luittery at the Garita of San C(.x<;nie is men- 
tionevl in the official iv^vrts. For g;illantry in the 
battles of Contreras and Cherubusco. on the 20tli of 
August. Lieutenant Jackson had Iven brevetteii a cap- 
tain ; and now this storming of Chapultejvc. on the 
ISth of Septemlvr. won him the brevet of major. In 
the first bsitch of brevettetl pivmotions there were only 
five or six who receive*! double brevets, and these 
wen? the first who were promote*! on re*.x>mmeni!a- 
tions from the field." Jackson was among this num- 
ber, and was the only one of his class who rose to this 
distinction. " No other oflicer in the whole army in 
ilexico was promote*! so often for meritorious condcct 
or maile so gn?at a stride in rank." 

In the storming of Chapultepec, when at the mo- 
ment of gr«»test dang<?r he was almost deserte*! by his 
men, he refuse*! to retire without or\!ers from his com- 
mander. However, ho was soon relieve*! by reinforce- 
ments. Years afterwanls, when his pupils at Lexing- 
ton were asking him for the particulars of the scene, 
he mo*!estly tlesoribe*! it. when one of them exclaimed, 
in astonishment, " Major, why diiin'i you run when 
your command was so *lisiible*! J" "With a quiet smile 



•MY DUTY IS TO OBEY ORDERS." 45 

he r<;pliwl, " I was not ordered to do so. If I had 
Ixien ordered to run, I should [lave done so; but 1 was 
direct*»J to hold my position, and I had no right u> 
abandon it." In after-yea "s he confessed that tlie 
part he played in step[)ing out and assuring his men 
that there was no danger, when the cannoD-I>all passefJ 
between his legs, was the only wilful faLsehfj<xJ he 
ever told in his life I In sj.-eaking of the storming of 
Chapultepec to a friend, he described one of those 
awful casualties of war when, in consequence of some 
misunderstanding on the part of the Vxisieged in oJ>- 
serving directions to clear the streets of the city of 
non-combatants, the guns of his battery were ordere<^l 
to sweep I', street which was fille<l by a panic-stricken 
crowd, and after the smoke of the charge had cleared 
away he could trace distinctly the track of destrno- 
tion his own guns had made. No one felt more than 
he the horrors of war; but. with his high sense of a 
soldiers duty, he felt that he ha*l no right to " a.sk the 
reason why," or to stop to consider the consequences. 
As he often said, " J/y dut^ is to fjljey onhrH .'" 

After the occupation of the cit}- of Mexico by 
the United States troops, there Avas a season of 
rest for several months, which was very refreshing 
and delightful to Major Jackson ; and as he, with a 
number of other officers, had their quarters in the 
national palace, he ased to say jocularly that no one 
came nearer to realizing the boast of the politicians 
of the day, that " their .soldiers should lodge in the 
halls of the Montezumas !" 

Here his life of ease and luxury was quite a contrast 
to the stormy period through which he bad passed ; 
and when we hear of his adopting the Spanish cus- 



46 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

toms — taking his morning cup of coffee before rising, 
his late dinner, in which Spanish art almost rivalled the 
delicious fruits of that semi-tropical climate — it does not 
surprise us that, for the mere delight of living, he con- 
sidered the city of Mexico to surpass all others he had 
ever known. But notwithstanding his luxurious and 
attractive surroundings, the young soldier never neg- 
lected his duties, which he performed with the utmost 
punctiliousness. 

After the cessation of hostilities and the peaceful 
possession of the capital by the United States army, 
the people began to yield kindly to the advances of 
the conquerors, and there was soon a friendly com- 
mingling of the two nations which had so lately been 
in deadly conflict. The homes of the old nohltsse, 
whose i^ride was their pure Castilian Ijlood, were 
opened in cordial welcome to the American officers; 
and the charms of society never had greater fascina- 
tion for Major Jackson than when in the presence of 
the beautiful and graceful Mexican women. However, 
there was one drawback to his perfect enjoyment, for, 
much as he could feast his eyes, he could not have the 
pleasure of conversing with these charmers, as he was 
ignorant of their language. But to a go-ahead young 
man this was a trifle easily overcome ; so he went to 
work and studied under a Spanish gentleman, until 
he soon learned both to speak and read Spanish flu- 
ently. His admiration for the language was great, 
and he always said it was meant for lovers, the terms 
of endearment being so musical and abundant. He 
adopted them for his own use, and delighted in lav- 
ishing them upon those dearest to him. Indeetl, he 
acknowledged that he came very near losing his heart 



SOCIETY IX THE CITY OF MEXICO. 47 

in Mexico, the fascinations of at least one dark-eyed 
senorita proving almost too great for his resistance; 
but he found safety in compelling himself to discon- 
tinue his visits, and thus escaped capture. " Discre- 
tion is the better part of valor " was a maxim that he 
often quoted. He formed some warm attachments for 
his " fine Spanish friends." as he called them, and 
brought home a number of interesting little souvenirs 
■with which they presented him : among them a hand- 
some paper-knife, card-cases, gold pencil, and a mas- 
sive silver spoon that might have been designed for 
royalty, it having a curious little compartment in the 
centre, for the purpose of testing poison ! Those who 
knew him afterwards as so strict and rigid in his ab- 
stinence from worldl}^ pleasures may be surprised to 
know that as a young man he was very fond of danc- 
ing, and participated with great zest in the balls of 
the pleasure -loving Mexicans. Years later, in the 
privacy and freedom of his own home in Lexington, 
he used frequently to dance the polka for exercise, 
but no eye but that of his wife was ever permitted to 
witness this recreation. The delicious climate and 
beautiful scenery of Mexico, with its wealth of flow- 
ers and tropical fruits, so charmed him that he often 
said that if the people had been equal to their climate, 
and the civil and religious privileges had been as great 
as those of his own country, he would have preferred 
a home there to any other part of the world. Yet in 
the midst of all this gayety he had his sober thoughts, 
and it was while still in Mexico that he began that 



o"- 



religious life which was so marked in all his future 
I'eer. 
The commanding officer of his regiment, the First 



"to 

cai'eer. 



48 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Artillery, was Colonel Francis Taylor, an earnest 
Christian, who labored much for the spiritual welfare 
of his soldiers. He was the first man to speak to Jack- 
son on the subject of personal religion, with whom the 
sense of duty was so strong that once convinced that 
a thing was right and that he ought to do it, he im- 
mediately undertook it ; and so he resolved to study 
the Bible and seek all the light within his reach. At 
that time he had but little knowledge of creeds, and 
no special preference for any denomination. His 
mother, it is supposed, had been a member of the 
Methodist Church, but after his separation from her 
at an early age it is not likely that he received any 
religious instruction. One statement is that his mother 
had him baptized in infancy by a Pi'esbyterian clergy- 
man, the Rev. Asa Brooks ; but if this be so, it is 
probable that he did not know it himself, or he would 
not have had the rite administered to him after he 
was grown to manhood, for he believed in infant bap- 
tism. He had been more accustomed to the Episcopal 
service than any other, as the chaplains at West Point 
and in the army had been chiefly of that denomina- 
tion, and his friend Colonel Taylor was a devout 
Episcopalian ; but he determined to examine all the 
religious creeds, and decide for himself which came 
nearest to his ideas of the Bible standard of faith and 
practice. Being then in the midst of educated Roman 
Catholics, he resolved to investigate their system, and 
for this purpose lie sought the acquaintance of the 
Archbishop of Mexico, with whom he had several 
interviews. He believed him to be a sincere and de- 
vout man, and was impressed with his learning and 
affability ; but the venerable prelate failed to convince 




STONEWALL JACKSON AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-FOUR. 

(From a daguerreotype.) 



STATIONED AT FORT HAMILTON. 49' 

him of the truth of his tenets of belief. His prefer- 
ence for a simpler form of faith and worship led him 
to wait until he could have the opportunity of learn- 
ing more of other churches. 

The United States troops returned from Mexico in 
the summer of 1848, and Major Jackson's command 
was stationed for two years at Fort Hamilton, on 
Long Island. Here he led a quiet, uneventful life, 
forming some pleasant friendships among the resi- 
dents, and especially with the ladies of the garrison. 
He attended with more diligence than ever to his re- 
ligious duties, but acknowledged that he went through 
his Bible reading and prayers with no feeling stronger 
than having performed a duty. Colonel Taylor was 
residing near him, and their intercourse was delight- 
ful and instructive to the junior officer, who always 
spoke of his colonel with gratitude and reverence. 
The chaplain of the garrison at that time is said to 
have been a Kev. Mr. Parks, to whom Major Jackson 
became much attached, and at whose hands it has 
been reported that he received the sacrament of bap- 
tism. That he had such a friend and spiritual ad- 
viser is doubtless true, but that he was baptized by 
him is a mistake. I visited Fort Hamilton a few 
years ago, and sought out the little chapel in which 
he worshipped while there (St. John's Episcopal), and 
with the aid of one of the wardens, a friend of Major 
Jackson, examined the records of the church, where 
appeared the following entry : 

"On Sunday, 29th day of April, 1849, I baptized 
Thomas Jefferson Jackson, major in the U. S. Army. 
Sponsors, Colonels Dimick and Taylor. 

" M. SCHOFIELD." 

4 



50 LI1''E OF GENERAL TiloMAS J. JACKSOX." 

The minister very naturally made the mistake of 
supposing his second name was Jefferson, instead of 
Jonathan, the illustrious President of that name hav- 
ing had so many namesakes. Upon the church rec- 
ords it was also interesting to find the name of Robert 
E. Lee, Captain Corps Engineers, as a vestryman in 
18i2. The names of the rectors of the parish up to 
that time were given, but that of Mr. Parks does not 
appear among them. It is my impression that Mr. 
Parks had charge of a church in the city of New 
York, as I have heard Major Jackson speak warmly 
and gratefully of a ministerial friend in that city ; and 
as Mr. Parks was an alumnus of West Point, this is 
most probable. 

Although he had applied for and received the sacra- 
ment of baptism in tlie Episcopal Church, his mind 
was not yet made up on the subject of churches, and 
he chose to wait for further opportunities of acquaint- 
ing himself witli the creeds. But having accepted 
Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Redeemer, he wished 
to avow his faith before men, and became a member 
of that "Holy Catholic Church" whose creed is em- 
braced by all evangelical denominations. Baptism 
in the Episcopal Church gave him the right to be- 
come a communicant, and with this privilege he was 
content, and he did not apply for the rite of con- 
firmation. 

One of the jileasant experiences of his garrison life 
at Fort Hamilton was the horseback exercise he daily 
indulged in ; and, mounted on a favorite little horse, 
" Fancy," he rode all over the country, and along the 
shores of the beautiful bay. 



CHAPTER V. 

PROFESSOR IX THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE— 
1851-1861. 

At the close of his two years' terra of service at 
Fort Hamilton, Major Jackson was ordered to Fort 
Meade, near Tampa Baj', in Florida, where he re- 
mained about, six months. The warm climate he 
found enervating and injurious to his health ; but a 
delightful change soon came, removing him to the 
bracing air of the Valley of Virginia. This great 
valley, which lies between the two ranges of the Blue 
Kidge and Alleghany Mountains, is justly celebrated 
as the most beautiful, picturesque, and fertile part of 
the State. The county of Rockbridge derives its 
name from the Natural Bridge, where a massive and 
solid arch of rock spans a chasm, into whose depths the 
beholder looks down with awe. At the bottom of the 
ravine a little stream ripples along, adding a tender 
grace and beautj' to the surrounding sublimity and 
grandeur. 

Of this famous county, Lexington is the capital 
town. If, in describing this little gem of a place, I 
seem extravagant, the reader will pardon me, since 
here was centred all the romance of my life ; here 
were spent my happiest days ; and it is still to me 
the most sacred of all places, as here the mountains 
keep watch and guard around the home and the 
tombs of those who were dearest to me on earth. 



52 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The scenery around Lexington is exquisitely beauti- 
ful, being varied by ranges of mountains, hills, and 
valleys, with fine forests and fertile fields of fruit 
and grain. The wealth of green in spring and sum- 
mer, the resplendent tints of autumn, and the snow- 
capped peaks of winter present a pei'petual feast to the 
e3'e. Some of the mountains take their names from 
the objects which they are supposed to I'esenible. The 
most distinctive one, as seen from the town, suggests 
the form of a lar^e building' : hence it is called the 
" House Mountain." It is a very striking feature in 
the western horizon, and is most beautiful when light- 
ed up by the setting sun. Another ridge, from some 
fancied resemblance, is called the "Hog's Back." It 
is a fine mountain ridge, in spite of its unromantic 
name. 

Lexington has long been noted for its two grand 
institutions, one of which was founded before the 
Revolutionary War, and received a large endowment 
from the father of his country, from which it was 
called Washington College — a name that it continued 
to bear until after the late war, when General Lee be- 
came its president, upon which his name was also 
given to it, so that what was before Washington Col- 
lege is now Washington and Lee University. Gen- 
eral Lee, and his son. General G. W. Custis Lee, who 
succeeded him in the presidency, have improved the 
spacious grounds till the_y are as attractive as a city 
park. The former built the chapel, which, after his 
death, was made a memorial chapel and a mausoleum, 
in which is placed Valentine's exquisite recumbent 
statue of the great soldier. This is to the visitor the 
chief attraction of Lexington. 



THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 53 

A few hundred j^ards beyond the University, upon 
the same elevated ridge, but farther out of town, 
stands the Virginia Mihtary Institute, with its castel- 
lated buildings and extensive grounds. The barracks 
command a magnificent view of the country for miles 
around. This school was founded upon the model of 
the United States Military Academy, and is called the 
" West Point of the South." 

The society of Lexington, as is usual in seats of 
learning, is so cultivated and intelligent that it ri- 
vals that gathered round the State University of 
Virginia. But apart from the professors' families, 
others, attracted by these opportunities of education, 
have made Lexington their home ; so that it has be- 
come known in all the countr}' not only as a seat of 
learning, but of general cultivation, refinement, and 
hospitality. 

In the Military Institute Major Jackson was elected 
Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy 
and Artillery Tactics on the 27th of March, 1851, and 
thus Lexington became his home for ten years. Of 
his election his friend, and subsequently his brother- 
in-law. General D. II. Hill (then major), gives the fol- 
lowing account : 

" The circumstances attending the election of Major 
Jackson to a chair in the Virginia Military Institute 
will be of interest to those who believe in the special 
providence of God. It will be remembered that Gen- 
eral Scott withdrew from General Taylor the greater 
portion of his regular troops for the invasion of Mex- 
ico by the Vera Cruz line. The troops withdrawn 
marched to Camargo, where they took river steamers 



64 



LIKE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J, JACKSUN. 




THE VIRGINIA MILITAUY INSTITUTE. 



to Point Isabel, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, and 
waited there for ocean transports to take them to 
Vera Cruz. A young officer who had served with 
General Taylor, and was waiting with his regiment 
on the beach at Point Isabel, strolled over one after- 
noon to see Captain Taylor, of the artillery. While 
in conversation. Captain Taylor said : ' Here comes 
Lieutenant Jackson. I want you to know him. He 
was constantly rising in the class at West Point, and 
if the course had been a year longer he would have 
graduated at the head of his class. He will make his 
mark in this war.' The young men were introduced, 
and soon after took a walk on the beach. Lieutenant 
Jackson admiring the grandeur of the ocean. He 
said, among other tilings : ' I envy you men who have 
been in battle. How I would like to be in one battle!' 
and expressed the fear that the war might come to an 
end before his wish could be gratified. Little did he 
then know how many scores of battles he would direct, 



HOW HE CAME TO BE A PROFESSOR. 55 

and how breathlessly the two divided sections of the 
nation would watch his terrible movements ! The 
two young oiBcers parted to meet under the walls of 
Vera Cruz. After a night of toil they sought shelter 
under a sand-bank to snatch a few hours' sleep, when 
an enormous shell from the Castle of San Juan de 
Ulloa came crashing tlirough their shelter, and nearly 
ended their earthly career. They were side by side 
in the pursuit of the Mexicans after the fall of Cha- 
pultepec, and they met again some time after the capt- 
ure of the city of Mexico. The war closed. Major 
Jackson remained in the service." 

Major Hill himself resigned, and accepted a profess- 
orship in the "College" at Lexington, not the Mili- 
tary Institute. A few years after he had been here 
he went one morning to see Colonel F. II. Smith, 
superintendent of the Institute, and found him much 
perplexed in consequence of a difference between him- 
self and the Board of Visitors. They wished to elect 
as a professor R. E. Rodes (afterwards major-general 
in the Confederate army), and he preferred a gradu- 
ate of West Point. There was a good deal of feeling 
among them, but a compromise was tinally effected, 
and the chair was offered to Professor A. P. Stewart, 
a graduate of West Point, but at that time in Cum- 
berland University. Professor Stewart had declined, 
and Colonel Smith apprehended a renewal of the old 
trouble. He handed an Army Catalogue to his vis- 
itor, and asked him to suggest a suitable officer to fill 
the chair. As he glanced over the catalogue, his eye 
fell upon the name of Jackson, and the conversation 
with Captain Taylor instantly occurred to him — " If 



56 I'IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the course had been one year longer, Jackson would 
have graduated at the head of his class." Colonel 
Smith was pleased with the name suggested. In a 
few days he started for Eichmond, where there was 
an adjourned meeting of the Board. • The Hon. John 
S. Carlisle, representative in Congress from Western 
Virginia, and a connection of Major Jackson, was a 
member of the Board, and heartily endorsed the nom- 
ination. It was thought desirable, too, to elect a pro- 
fessor from Western Virginia to secure patronage from 
that quarter, most of the cadets then coming from the 
East. So Major Jackson was elected unanimously to 
the chair of Natural Philosophy, Professor Gilham 
retaining that of Chemistry. 

It was Major Jackson's connection with the Virginia 
Militar}^ Institute which opened for him his career 
in the war. It identified him with the Valley, and 
gave him Valley men for his soldiers. It made him 
familiar with the ground upon which his earliest vic- 
tories were won. But by what a chain of apparently 
fortuitous circumstances was he led to Lexington I 
The conversation at Point Isabel was the first link — 
the intercourse between the young men in Mexico; 
the disagreement between Colonel Smith and the 
Board ; Professor Stewart's declining ; the chance 
visit to Colonel Smith's office — these were the sub- 
sequent links. 

At the time of Major Jackson's acceptance of this 
professorship his health was not good, and his eyes, 
especially, were so weak that he had to exercise great 
caution in using them, never doing so at night. Thus 
crippled for his work, a friend asked him if it was not 
presumption in him to accept the place when he was 



"WHAT I WILL TO DO, I CAN DO." 57 

physically incapacitated to fill it. " Not in the least," 
was his prompt answer ; " the appointment came un- 
sought, and was therefore providential ; and I knew 
that if Providence set me a task, he would give me the 
power to perform- it. So I resolved to get well, and 
you see I have. As to the rest, I knew that what 
/ willed to do, I could do.''' In order to regain his 
strength for his new work, he spent a part of July 
and August of 1851 on Lake Ontario, and the rest of 
the summer in charge of the corps of cadets at the 
Warm Springs of Virginia, from which he wrote to 
his uncle Alfred Neale : " I have reported at Lexing- 
ton, and am delighted with my duties, the place, and 
the people. At present I am with the corps of cadets 
at this place, where we may remain until the company 
shall leave, which may be some time hence. I recruit- 
ed very rapidly at Lake Ontario, where I passed part 
of July and August. It would have given me much 
pleasure to have visited you during the past summer, 
but I am anxious to devote myself to study until I 
shall become master of my profession." 

In removing to Lexington, he found there a number 
of churches, and attended one and another to see which 
he liked best. Up to this time he knew scarcely any- 
thing of Presbyterianism. Here he found that church 
the largest and most influential, embracing many of 
the most intelligent families, although the professors 
of the Institute to which he belonged were mostly 
Episcopalians. The pastor of the Presbyterian church. 
Dr. William S. White, was a devout and earnest man 
of God, whose kindness and affability made him very 
winning to the young and to strangers. His impres- 
sive and persuasive style of preaching attracted and 



58 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

interested the new professor, who soon sought his ac- 
quaintance, and then his counsel in religious matters. 
The simplicity of the Presbytei'ian form of worship 
and the preaching of her well-educated ministry im- 
pressed him most favorably, and after a careful study 
of her standards of faith and practice he gave his pref- 
erence to that church. It has been said that he be- 
came a Presbyterian by marriage, but this is incorrect, 
for he had made his choice of a church before he 
made choice of a wife, and he was of too independent 
and inflexible a nature to be influenced even by a wife 
in so important a decision. 

In his frequent interviews with Dr. "White, the latter 
became more and more interested in the earnest, can- 
did inquirer; and although some of his theories were 
not in strict accord with Presbyterianism, yet his pas- 
tor was so impressed with the genuineness of his faith 
and his extreme conscientiousness that he did not hes- 
itate to receive him to the communion. He made a 
public profession of his faith on the 22d of Kovember, 
1851, and became more and more attached to the 
church of his choice witli the lapse of time; his diffi- 
culties of doctrinal belief all vanished, and he was a 
most loyal and devoted member and officer. But he 
vas the furthest possible remove from being a bigot. 
His views of each denomination had l^een obtained 
from itself, not from its o])ponents. Hence he could 
see excellences in all. Even of the Roman Catholic 
Church he had a much more favorable impression 
than most Protestants, and he fraternizeil with all 
evangelical denominations. During a visit to New 
York City, one Sabbath morning, we chanced to find 
ourselves at the door of an Episcopal church at the 




ii;i..>i;\Ti:iii VN i ml i;rii ami i.kitiiie i;(in:\r, i.kxi m. inN, \.\. 



A DEACOX L\ THE CHL'RCH. 59 

hour for worship. He proposed that we should enter ; 
and as it was a day for the celebration of the com- 
munion, he remained for that service, of which he par- 
took in the most devout manner. It was with the 
utmost reverence and solemnity that he walked up 
the chancel and knelt to receive the elements. In his 
church at Lexington it has been said that he Avas an 
elder, but he never rose higher than a deacon, whose 
duties are purely temporal, to collect the ahns of the 
church and to distribute to the destitute. These hum- 
ble duties Major Jackson discharged with scrupulous 
fidelity. His pastor said he was the best deacon in 
the church. With a soldier s training of obedience to 
superior command, he followed out the same principle 
in his church duties, going to his pastor, as his chief, 
for his "ordei's,'' and "reporting" his performance of 
them in a military way. He never permitted anything 
to interfere with his attendance upon the monthly 
meetings of deacons; and to a brother-deacon, who 
excused his absence by pleading that he had not the 
time to attend, he said : " I do not see how, at that 
hour, we can possibly lack time for this meeting, or 
can have time for anything else, seeing it is set apart 
for this business."' 

Between his pastor and himself existed the most 
confidential relations, and he consulted him as he 
would a father, regarding him as a man of great 
worldl}' wisdom and discretion, as well as a faithful 
leader of his flock. '• He always acted on the princi- 
ple that he was as really bound to 'report' the condi- 
tion of himself and family to his pastor as the latter 
was to minister to their spiritual wants." 

Few men had such reverence for ministers of the 



60 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gospel, and he often said that, had his education fitted 
him for it, and had he more of the gift of speaking, 
he would have entered the pulpit. In a letter to his 
aunt, Mrs. Neale, he said : " The subject of becoming 
a herald of the cross has often seriously engaged my 
attention, and I regard it as tiie most noble of all pro- 
fessions. It was the profession of our divine Eedeem- 
er, and I should not be surprised were I to die upon a 
foreign field, clad in ministerial armor, fighting under 
the banner of Jesus. What could be more glorious? 
But my conviction is that I am doing good here, and 
that for the present I am where God would have me 
be. Within the last few days I have felt an unusual 
religious joy. I do rejoice to walk in the love of God. 
. . . My Heavenly Father has condescended to use me 
as an instrument in getting up a large Sabbath-school 
for the negroes here. He has greatly blessed it, and, 
I trust, all who are connected with it." So scrupulous 
was he in the performance of his duties that he would 
not neglect even the smallest, saying, " One instance 
would be a precedent for another, and thus my rules 
would be broken down." After his conscience decided 
upon questions of right and wrong, his resolution and 
independence enabled him to carrj'' out his principles 
with a total disregard of the opinions of the world. 
He thought it Avas a great weakness in others to care 
what impression their conduct made upon public opin- 
ion, if their consciences were only clear. The fear of 
the Lord was the only fear he knew. After he be- 
came a Christian he set his face against all worldly 
conformity, giving up dancing, theatre-going, and ev- 
ery amusement that had a tendency to lead his thoughts 
and heart away from holy things. When a question 



PRAYIXG IX PUBLIC. 61 

was raised as to the right or wrong of indulgences that 
many consider innocent, he would say pleasantly : 
"Well, I know it is not wrong not to do it, so Vm go- 
ing to be on the safe side." His rule was never to 
make any compromise with his principles. But there 
was not a particle of asceticism or gloom in his relig- 
ion. It shed perpetual sunshine upon his life, and his 
cheerful serenit}'^ was like the full-flowing of a placid 
stream. His faith and trust led \\m\ to feel that noth- 
ing could happen to him but what was sent in wisdom 
and love by his Heavenly Father. One of his favorite 
texts of Scripture was : " "We know that all things work 
together for good to them tliat love God." 

Soon after he united with the church, his pastor, in 
a public discourse, urged his flock to more faithfulness 
in attending the weekly prayer-meeting, and enjoined 
upon tlie church officers and members especially their 
duty to lead in prayer. Hearing this, Major Jackson 
called to inquire if he was among those who were ad- 
monished not to be deterred from their duty by mod- 
esty or false shame. He said he had not been used 
to public speaking ; he was naturally diffident, and 
feared an effort might prove anything but edifying to 
the assembly ; " but," he continued, " j'ou are my pas- 
tor, and the spiritual guide of the church ; and if you 
think it my duty, then I shall waive my reluctance and 
make the effort to lead in prayer, however painful it 
may be." Thus authorized to call upon him if he thought 
proper, after a time the pastor did so. In responding 
to the request, his embarrassment was so great that 
the service was almost as painful to the audience as it 
was to himself. The call was not repeated, and after 
waiting some weeks, the major again called upon Doc- 



62 LIFE OF GENERAL THOS^AS J. JACKSON. 

tor White to know if he had refrained from a second 
call from unwillingness to inflict distress upon him 
through his extreme diffidence. The good pastor was 
obliged to admit that he did shrink from requiring a 
duty of him which was rendered at such a sacrifice, 
lest his own enjoyment of the meeting be destroyed. 
His reply was : " Yes, but my comfort or discomfort 
is not the question ; if it is my duty to lead in prayer, 
then I must persevere in it until I learn to do it aright ; 
and I wish you to discard all consideration for my 
feelings." The next time he was called upon he suc- 
ceeded better in repressing his agitation, and in the 
course of time he was able to pour out his heart be- 
fore God with as much freedom in the public meeting 
as at his own family prayers. 

To improve himself in public speaking, he joined a 
debating society in Lexington, called "The Franklin," 
and his first efforts there were on a par Avith those in 
the Presbyterian lecture-room ; but his perseverance 
and determination overcame his difficulties to a great 
extent, and he acquired corsiderable ease and fluency 
as a speaker. 

A coneregational meeting of the church was held 
to determine the best method of increasing the rev- 
enue of the church. After several speeches, in which 
there was a good deal of diversity of opinion, Major 
Jackson rose quietly, and in a short but stirring ad- 
dress recalled the old command, not " to rob God in 
tithes and offerings," emphasizing the point that if 
they did their duty as church members all their diffi- 
culties would come to an end. with such earnest per- 
suasion as led an eminent divine who was present to re- 
mark, " Why, the major was really eloquent to-day !" 



ADOPTS THE RULE OF GIVING A TENTH. 63 

In his own giving for religious purposes, he adopted 
the Hebrew system of tithes, contributing every year 
one tenth of his income to the church. He was a 
liberal giver to all causes of benevolence and public 
enterprises, and during the war he gave bounteously 
of his means to promote the spiritual interests of the 
soldiers. 

During a summer spent in the little village of Bev- 
erly, "West Virginia (the home of his sister), he was 
troubled to find that there was but little religious 
influence in the place, and that a number of the friends 
and acquaintances he made tliere were professed infi- 
dels. So great was his desire to convince them of 
their error and danger, that he prepared and delivered 
a brief course of lectures upon the evidences of Chris- 
tianit}'. A military man was not often seen in that 
remote I'egion, and this led liim to hope that some 
might be drawn even by curiosity to listen to some- 
thing from him more favorably than from others, 
though it might be much inferior. He did succeed in 
attracting crowds of hearers, but the delivery, he said, 
was one of the greatest trials he had ever had. 

In social life Major Jackson was not what is called 
a " society man ;" indeed, the very phrase seems an 
incongruity as applied to him. But before his mar- 
riage he mingled constantly in society — punctiliously 
performing his part in the courtesies which are due 
from young gentlemen — jnore, perhaps, from a sense 
of duty than from inclination. He was not naturally 
social, but he was a most genuine and ardent admirer 
of true womanhood ; and no man was more respectful 
and chivalrous in his bearing towards the gentler sex. 
He never passed a woman either of high or low de- 



64 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gree, Avhether he knew her or not, without lifting 
his cap, and he was never lacking in any attention or 
service that he could render. AVlien a lady entered 
the room he always rose to his feet and remained 
standing until she was seated. But with all his polite- 
ness and thorough breeding, he was so honest and 
conscientious that he could not indulge in those little 
meaningless flatteries with which young people are 
so prone to amuse themselves ; hence he was not so 
popular in general society as young men who have 
no scruples of that sort. But he had his friendships 
among ladies who could appreciate him, and was a 
frequent visitor, delighting in throwing off restraint 
and making himself very much at home. In a letter 
to a friend he said : " The kind of friends to whom I 
am most attached are those with whom I feel at home, 
and to whom I can go at all proper times, and infor- 
mally tell them the object of my call, with the assur- 
ance that, if practicable, they will join me in carrying 
out my plans, whether they are for an evening prom- 
enade, a musical soiree, or whatever they may be ; and 
all this, without the marred pleasure resulting from a 
conviction that afterwards all my conduct must under- 
go a judicial investigation before ' Judge Etiquette,' 
and that for every violation of his code I must be cen- 
sured, if not socially ostracized." 

A Southern lady thus describes the impression that 
Major Jackson made upon her : " There was a pecu- 
liarity about him which at once attracted your atten- 
tion. Dignified and rather stiff, as military men are 
apt to be, he was as frank and unassuming as possible, 
and was j)erfectly natural and unaffected. He always 
sat bolt upright in his chair, never lounged, never 



A KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE. 65 

crossed his legs, or made an unnecessary movement. 
The expression of his soft gray eyes was gentle, yet 
commanding, giving you a delightful feeling of the 
sweetness, purity, and strength of his character. His 
dress (in times of peace at least) was always in good 
taste, and faultlessly neat. Everything he wore was 
of the best material. ' A thorough gentleman ' was 
not exactly the expression to describe the impression 
first made upon you : it was something more — a title 
of greater distinction than this must describe him — 
'a modern knight of King Arthur's Round Table,' 
would have more properly conveyed the indelible pict- 
ure he fixed upon your mind. iS'othing unworthy, 
nothing ignoble, nothing of modern frivolity and little- 
ness—any thoughtful observer could have seen, even 
before the war, that ' Stonewall' Jackson was as true 
a hero as Bayard, or Raleigh, or Sidney." 

The following picture is one of the best that have 
ever been drawn, and may well have the merit of ac- 
curacy, since it is by one who was a constant observer, 
as he was on his staff, and thus a member of his mili- 
tary family. It is the Rev. Dr. Dabney who thus 
sketches the figure of his chief : '' His person was tall, 
erect, and muscular, with the large hands and feet 
characteristic of all his race. His bearing was pecul- 
iarly English ; and therefore, in the somewhat free 
society of America, was regarded as constrained. Ev- 
ery movement was quick and decisive ; his articula- 
tion was rapid, but distinct and emphatic, and, accom- 
panied by that laconic and perspicuous phrase to which 
it was so well adapted, it often made the impression 
of curtness. He practised a military exactness in all 
the courtesies of good society. Diiierent opinions ex- 
5 



66 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

isted as to his comeliness, iiecause it varied so much 
with the condition of his health and animal spirits. 
His brow was fair and expansive ; his eyes were blue- 
gray, large, and expressive, reposing usually in placid 
calm, but able none the less to tiash lightning. His 
nose was Eoman, and well chiselled ; his cheeks ruddy 
and sunburnt ; his mouth firm and full of meaning, and 
his chin covered with a beard of comely brown. The 
remarkable characteristic of his face was the contrast 
between its sterner and its gentler moods. As he 
accosted a friend, or dispensed the hospitalities of his 
own house, iiis serious, constrained look gave place to 
a smile, so sweet and sunny in its graciousness that 
he was another man. And if anything caused him to 
burst into a hearty laugh, the effect was a complete 
metamorphosis. Then his ej'es danced, and his coun- 
tenance rippled with a glee and abandon literally in- 
fantile. This smile was indescribable to one who never 
saw it. Had there been a painter with genius subtile 
enough to fix upon his canvas, side by side, the spirit 
of the countenance with which he caught the sudden 
jest of a child romping on his knees, and with which, 
in the crisis of battle, he gave the sharp command, 
' Sweep the field with the bayonet !' he would have ac- 
complished a miracle of art, which the spectator could 
scarcely credit as true to nature. 

" In walking, his step was long and rapid, and at 
once suggested the idea of the dismounted horseman. 
It has been said that he was an awkward rider, but 
incorrectly. ' A sufficient evidence of this is the fact 
that he was never thrown. It is true that on the 
march, when involved in thought, he was heedless of 
the grace of his posture ; but in action, as he rode 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND MANNERS. 67 

with bare head along his cohimn, acknowledging the 
shouts which rent the skies, no figure could be nobler 
than his. His judgment of horses was excellent, and 
it was very rare that he was not well mounted." 

His passport, which he procured at Washington for 
a European trip in 1856, describes him thus : "Stature 
five feet nine and three-quarter inches, English; fore- 
head full ; eyes gray ; nose aquiline ; mouth small ; chin 
oval ; hair dark-brown ; face oval ; complexion dark." 

The last is a mistake, as his complexion was nat- 
urally fair, but was very susceptible to sunburn. A 
lady who was a relative, with whom be lived under 
the same roof several years, says : 

"He was a man s^n generis; and none who came 
into close enough contact with him to see into his 
inner nature were willing to own that thej' had ever 
known just such another man." After she was allowed 
unguarded insight into " the very pulse of the ma- 
chine," she recalls the incredulity with which her 
declaration that Jackson wa^ the very stuff out of 
which to make a hero was received, before any sword 
was lifted in the contest. 

She describes him upon his first entrance into Lex- 
ington society as " of a tall, very erect figure, with a 
military precision about him which made him appear 
stiff, but he was one of the most polite and courteous 
of men. He had a handsome, animated face, flashing 
blue-gray eyes, and the most mobile of mouths. He 
was voted eccentric in our little professional circle, 
because he did not walk in the same conventional 
grooves as other men: it was only when we came to 
know him with the intimacy of hourly converse that 



68 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

we found that much that passed under the name of 
eccentricity was the result of the deepest underlying 
principle, and compelled a respect which we dared 
not withhold. After he became an inmate of our 
household, we were not long in discovering that the 
more rigidly and narrowly his springs of action were 
scrutinized, the higher rose our respect and reverence. 
"What may have provoked a smile when the motive 
or principle that lay behind the act was entirely mis- 
apprehended came to be regarded with a certain ad- 
miring wonder when the motive of the act was made 
clear. We sometimes used to charge him with losing: 
sight of the perspective of things. Not drawing the 
distinction that men generally do between small and 
great, he laid as much stress upon truth in the most 
insigniticant words or actions of his daily life as in 
the most solemn and important. He weighed his 
lightest utterances in ' the balances of the sanctuary.' 
When it would be playfully represented to him that 
this needless precision interfered with the graces of 
conversation, and tended to give angularity and stiff- 
ness to his style, his reply would be that he was per- 
fectly aware of the inelegance it involved, but he chose 
to sacrifice all minor charms to the paramount one of 
absolute truth." 

His crystalline truthfulness was equally noticeable 
in admitting that he did not know facts or things, 
when really there \vas no appeal made to his knowl- 
edge except the common "j'ou know," with which so 
many interlard their conversation. "Nothing," he 
said, •' would induce him to make the impression that 
he knew what he did not." 



EXTREME CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 69 

So in conversation, if he unintentionally made a 
misstatement about a matter of no moment whatever, 
as soon as he discovered his mistake, he would lose, 
no time in hastening to correct it, even if lie had to 
go upon the mission in a pouring i-ain. Upon being 
asked, " Why, in the name of reason, do you walk a 
mile in the rain for a perfectly unimportant thing f 
his reply was, " Simply because I have discovered 
that it was a misstatement, and I could not sleep com- 
fortably to-night unless I corrected it." 

His ideas of honesty were just as rigid. An in- 
stance soon after our marriage will show this. One 
autumn afternoon we were taking a stroll, and passing 
a large apple orchard where the ripe fruit had fallen 
plentifully upon the ground, I asked him to step over 
the fence and treat ourselves to some of the tempting 
apples. My rebuke can be imagined when in the kind- 
est manner he answered: "No, I do not think it 
would be right to do that. I am sure that Colonel 

H would have no objection, and would gladly 

give them to us if he were here, but I cannot take 
them without his leave." 

No man carried his conscientiousness to a greater 
extreme, and many may say that he did it to an un- 
necessary and even morbid degree ; but his humility 
was as pre-eminent as his conscientiousness, and al- 
though he laid down these stringent rules for his own 
governance, he did not set himself up as a guide or 
model for others, and never forced his convictions 
upon any one. He never even inadvertently fell into 
the use of the expi'essions so common upon our lips 
that he " wished that any event or circumstance were 
different from what it was." To do so would, in his 



70 LIl-E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

opinion, have been to arraign Providence. He was 
utterly free from censoriousness, envy, detraction, and 
all uncharitableness, and certainly kept his rule that 
if he could say nothing good of a man, he would not 
speak of him at all. 

But if he once lost confidence, or discovered decep- 
tion and fraud on the part of one whom he had trust- 
ed, his faith was not easily restored, and he Avith- 
drew himself as much as possible from any further 
dealings with him. However, he religiously kept the 
door of his lips, not permitting a word of censure or 
denunciation to pass them ; and even when convinced 
that a man was a h\'pocrite, his severest sentence 
against him was that he believed him to be a " de- 
ceived man," who was so blinded that he could not 
see the eri-or of his wa3'S. 

..." Only in the innermost circle of home did 
any one come to know what Jackson really was. 
. . . His natural temperament was extremel}' buoy- 
ant, and his abandon was beautiful to see, provided 
there were only one or two people to see it." 

As may be supposed, punctuality was regarded by 
him as a virtue : " No one could ever charge him 
with loss of time through dilatoriness on his part. 
He never failed to fill an engagement ; or, if it was im- 
possible for him to do so, he would take any amount 
of trouble to give notice beforehand of his inability 
to keep it. . . . Once only do I remember that he 
Avas late in getting to jn-ayer- meeting, for he was 
as punctual as a clock in being in his seat before the 
opening of the services of the church. On this oc- 
casion, when he found that the worship had com- 
menced (although we were only a few minutes be- 



"I HAVE NO GENIUS FOR SEEMING." 71 

hind time), he declined to enter, saying we had no 
right to disturb the devotions of others by going in 
during the service, and so we returned home. 

" His personal habits were systematic in the ex- 
treme. He studied his physical nature with a physi- 
cian's scrutiny ; and having once adopted a regimen 
which he believed perfectly suited to himself, nothing 
would ever tempt him to swerve in the slightest de- 
gree from it. He ate, as he did everything else, from 
a sense of duty.'' He had suffered much from dys- 
pepsia, and for that reason had to practise absolute 
control over his appetite, and nothing could tempt 
him to partake of food between his regular hours. 
" When sometimes at parties and receptions a friend 
would entreat him, for courtesy's sake and the gratifi- 
cation of his hostess, to seem to accept some delicacy, 
or at least venture upon a grape or an orange, he 
would always reply : " No, no ; I have no genius for 
seeming P 

In all the means that he sought for relief in sub- 
duing his arch-enemy, dyspepsia, he found none that 
proved so beneficial as the hydropathic treatment. 
He became a strong believer in the system, and dur- 
ing his summer vacation he visited several hydro- 
pathic establishments in New York and New Eng- 
land, and invariably gained strength from the baths 
and the exercise. One summer his chest broadened 
several inches by his performances in the gymnasium, 
and on his return home he found his double-breasted 
coat (a major's uniform) incapable of accommodating 
his increased dimensions, so he had to have a new 
one made. He always wore citizen's dress when off 
duty. 



72 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

When he had a home of his own, he provided himself 
with some of his favorite apphances for gymnastic 
exercises, and greatly invigorated himself by their use. 

He abstained from the use of all intoxicatins: drinks 
from principle, having a fondness for them, as he him- 
self confessed, and for that reason never daring to in- 
dulge his taste. During the war, when asked by a 
brother officer to join him in a social glass, he replied : 
" No, I thank you, but I never use it ; I am more afraid 
of it than of Federal bullets." Nor did he use tobacco 
in any form, and for many years not. even tea and 
coffee, believing that they were injurious to his health. 

When persons about him complained of headaches 
or other consequences of imprudence, he would say : 
" If you follow my rule, which is to govern yourself 
absolutely, I do not think you would have these 
sufferings. My head never aches : if anything dis- 
agrees with me, I never eat it." 

As an instance of the alacrity with which, if once 
convinced that a thing was right to do, he did it, on 
one occasion, when he had been talking of self-abne- 
gation and making rather light of it, a friend sug- 
gested that he had not been called upon to endure it, 
and supposed a case : " Imagine that the providence 
of God seemed to direct 3'ou to drop every scheme of 
life and of personal advancement, and go on a mission 
to the heart of Africa for the rest of your days, 
would you go ?" His eyes flashed as he instantly re- 
plied : " I would go without my hat .'" 

This same friend once asked him what was his un- 
derstanding of the Bible command to be " instant in 
prayer " and to " pray without ceasing." " I can give 
you," he said, " my idea of it by illustration, if you 



PRAYER WITHOUT CEASING. 73 

will allow it, and will not think that I am setting 
mj'self up as a model for others. I have so fixed the 
habit in my own mind that I never raise a glass of 
water to my lips without lifting my heart to God in 
thanks and prayer for the water of life. Then, when 
we take our meals, there is the grace. Whenever 1 
drop a letter in the post-office, I send a petition along 
with it for God's blessing upon its mission and the 
person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of 
a letter just received, I stop to ask God to prepare me 
for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. 
When I go to my class-room and await the arrange- 
ment of the cadets in their places, that is my time to 
intercede with God for them. And so in every act of 
the day I have made the practice habitual." 

" And don't you sometimes forget to do this V 
asked his friend. 

" I can hardly say that I do ; the habit has become 
almost as fixed as to breathe." 

His submission to his Heavenly Father's will was 
so perfect, and the assurance that " all things work 
together for good to them that love God " was to him 
such a blessed reality, that he always said he pre- 
ferred God's will to his own ; and his perfect assur- 
ance of faith never forsook him, however severely it 
might be tried. " He used to express surprise at the 
want of equanimity on the part of Christians under 
the pressure of untoward circumstances; and remarked 
that he did not think any combination of earthly ills 
could make him positively unhappy if he believed he 
was suffering the will of God." Thinking this a bold 
assertion, a friend ventured to touch him in a vulner- 
able point, knowing that his health was a source of 



74 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

anxious care, and asked him : " Major, suppose j'ou 
should lose your health irreparably ; do you think you 
could be happy still <" He answered : " Yes, I should 
be happy still." " Well, suppose, in addition to life- 
long illness, you should become suddenly blind ; do 
you believe your serenity would remain unclouded ?" 
He paused a moment, as if to weigh fully every word 
he uttered, and then said : " I am sure of it ; even such 
a misfortune could not make me doubt the love of 
God." Still further to test him, and knowing his 
impatience of anything that even bordered on de- 
pendence, it was urged : " But if, in addition to blind- 
ness and incurable infirmity and pain, j'ou had to re- 
ceive grudging charity from those on whom j'ou had 
no claim — what then ?" There was a strange rever- 
ence in his lifted eye, and an exalted expression over 
his whole face, as he replied, with slow deliberateness : 
" If it were God's wiU, / think 1 could lie there content 
a hundred years /" 

General Jackson's extreme rigor in the observance 
of the Sabbath has been much commented on, and he 
has been called a religious fanatic. Certainly lie 
was not less scrupulous in obeying the divine com- 
mand to " remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy " 
than he was in any other rule of his life. Since the 
Creator iiad set apart this day for his own, and 
commanded it to be kept holy, he believed that it 
was as wrong for him to desecrate it by worldly pleas- 
ure, idleness, or secular employment, as to break any 
other commandment of the decalogue. Sunday was 
his busiest day of tlie week, as he always attend- 
ed church twice a day and taught in two Sabbath 
schools ! He refrained as much as possible from all 



STRICT OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 75 

worldly conversation, and in his family, if secular 
topics were introduced, he would say, with a kindly 
smile, " We will talk about that to-morrow." 

He never travelled on Sunday, never took his mail 
from the post-office, nor pe emitted a letter of his own 
to travel on that day, always before posting it calcu- 
lating the time it required to reach its destination ; 
and even business letters of the utmost importance 
were never sent off the very last of the week, but were 
kept over until Monday moi'uing, unless it was a case 
where distance required alonger time than a week. 

One so strict in his own Sabbatli observance natu- 
rally believed that it was wrong for tlie government 
to carry the mails on Sunday. Any organization which 
exacted secular labor of its employees on the Lord's 
day was, in his opinion, a violator of God's law. Just 
before his last battle he wrote the following letter, 
touching upon this matter, to his friend Colonel J. 
T. L. Preston : 

"Near Fredekicksburg, Va., April 2711), 1863. 
"Deae Coloxel, — I am mucii gratified to see that 
you are one of the delegates to the General Assembly 
of our Church, and I write to express the hope that 
something may be accomplished by you at the meet- 
ing of that influential body towards repealing the law 
requiring our mails to be carried on the Christian Sab- 
bath. Eecently I received a letter from a member of 
Congress (the Confederate Congress at Eichmond) 
expressing the hope that the House of Eepresenta- 
tives would act upon the subject during its present 
session ; and from the mention made of Colonel Chil- 
ton and Mr. Curry of Alabama, I infer that they are 



76 Llf'E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

members of the committee which recommends the 
repeal of the law. A few days since I received a 
very gratifying letter from Mr. Cuvry, which was vol- 
untary on his part, as I was a stranger to him, and 
there had been no previous correspondence between 
us. His letter is of a cheering character, and he takes 
occasion to say that divine laws can be violated with 
impunity neither by governments nor individuals. I 
regret to say that he is fearful that the anxiety of mem- 
bers to return home, and the press of other business, 
will prevent the desired action this session. I have 
said thus much in order that you may see that Con- 
gressional action is to be looked for at the next meet- 
ing of Congress ; hence the importance that Chris- 
tians act jiromptly, so that our legislators may see the 
current opinion before they take up the subject. I 
hope and pray that such may be our country's senti- 
ment upon this and kindred subjects that our states- 
men will see their way clearly. Now appears to me 
an auspicious time for action, as our people are look- 
ing to God for assistance. Very truly your friend, 

"T. J. Jackson." 

In another letter to his pastor he says : " It is de- 
lightful to see the Congressional Committee rejiort so 
strongly against Sabbath mails. I trust that you will 
write to every member of Congress with whom you 
have any influence, and do all you can to procure the 
adoption of the report. And please request those with 
whom you correspond (when expedient) to do the same. 
I believe that God will bless us with success if Chris- 
tians will but do their duty. For nearly fifteen years 
Sabbath mails have been, through God's blessing, 



HE WOULD NOT BREAK THE SEAL. 77 

avoided by me, and I am thankful to say that in no 
instance has there been occasion for regret, but, on the 
contrary, God has made it a source of pure enjoyment 
to me." 

For a long time he kept his resolution not to use 
his eyes by artificial light ; and it was his custom never 
to break the seal of a letter which came to him late 
on Saturday night until the dawn of Monday morn- 
ing. When he became engaged, and hxs^ancee lived in 
another State, it was a subject of amusing speculation 
among his friends whether he would break this rule. 
But it was found that even to the excuse '' The wom- 
an tempted me " he did not yield. A friend in walk- 
ing to church with him one Sunday morning, know- 
ing he had received a letter the evening before, said 
to him : " Major, surely you have read your letter T' 
" Assuredly not," said he. " Where is it ?" asked his 
friend. "Here," tapping his coat -pocket. "What 
obstinacy !" exclaimed his companion. " Don't you 
know that your curiosity to learn its contents will dis- 
tract your attention from divine worship far more than 
if you had read it ? Surely, in this case, to depart 
from your rule would promote a true Sabbath observ- 
ance, instead of injuring it." " No," he answered, qui- 
etly, " I shall make the most fait'hful effort I can to 
govern my thoughts and guard them from unnecessary 
distraction ; and as I do this from a sense of duty, I 
expect the divine blessing upon it." He said after- 
wards that his tranquillity and spiritual enjoyment 
were unusually great during the day. 

In the autumn of 1855, he organized his Sabbath- 
school for the instruction of the colored people of Lex- 
ington. His interest in that race was simply because 



78 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

they had souls to save ; and he continued to instruct 
them with great faithfuhiess and success up to the 
breaking-out of the war. In this missionary woi'k lie 
was assisted by a number of ladies and gentlemen. 
This school was held i u the afternoon of the Sabbath ; 
its sessions were short and spirited, and he soon in- 
fused interest and punctuality into both teachers and 
pupils. Upon my removal to Lexington I proposed 
taking a class in the Sunday-school for white chil- 
dren, but he preferred that my labors should be given 
to the colored children, believing it was more impor- 
tant and useful to put the strong hand of the Gospel 
under the ignorant African race, to lift them up. I 
have always felt thankful that his wishes guided me 
in this matter, for it was a privilege to witness his 
srreat interest and zeal in the work, and never did his 

o 

face beam with more intelligence and earnestness than 
when he was telling the colored children of his Sab- 
bath-school the story of the cross. 

When in the army he inquired of every visitor from 
the church to his camp how his colored Sunday-school 
was getting on, and expressed great satisfaction at 
hearing of its prosperity. This school is still in suc- 
cessful operation. 

The Rev. Dr. White said he was once both gratified 
and amused when Major Jackson came to hiiu to re- 
port the result of a collection which he had made in 
the congregation for the Bible Society. At the foot 
of the long list of the church-members and otlier citi- 
zens were a number of additional names in pencil- 
marks with small sums attached to them. T^pon in- 
quiring who they were, the major explained : " These 
at the top are your regulars, and those below are my 



to 



A BELOVED CURISTf^N FRIEND. ^g 

militia." In his round of visiting, he had called upon 
some of his colored friends, and encouraged them to 
give, even if it were but a mite, to this good cause, ar- 
guing that their money was more profitably spent in 
this way than in tobacco and whiske}', and that it 
would elevate them, and increase their interest in the 
study of the Bible. This activity for the good of oth- 
ers brought its own reward. This man, so busy in 
good works, his pastor said, " was the happiest man 
he ever knew." His faith and trust were so implicit 
that his own will was in perfect subjection to tliat of 
his Heavenly Father, and no suffering or trial could 
make him wish it had been otherwise. 

The story of Major Jackson's life in Lexington would 
be lacking in one important link of the chain without 
the mention of his dear and honored Christian friend, 
Mr. John B. Lyle, to whom he was more indebted for 
spiritual profit than to any one else except his pastor. 
This gentleman was an elder of the cliurch, a bachelor, 
past middle-age, and not prosperous, as the world goes, 
but he was one of those whole-souled, large-hearted 
Christians whose lives are full of love and sunshine. 
His genial face and ready sympathy made liim a great 
favorite with young and old, and he was known as the 
comforter of the afflicted, the restorer of the wayward, 
and the counsellor of the doubting. Indeed, his heart 
was big enough to take in all who sought a place there. 
The young ladies made a special pet of him, and he 
was generally the confidant and adviser of his numer- 
ous friends, both in temporal and spiritual matters. 
He was fond of music, and led the church choir. The 
church at that time had no organ, but his magnificent 
voice was almost equal to an organ itself. Major Jack- 



so LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

son rarely passed a day without a visit to Mr. Lyle's 
sanctum, and thus, coming under the constant influ- 
ence of one whose inner Christian life was as elevated 
as his outward was active, his own religious character 
became moulded into that exalted type for which he 
was so conspicuous. It was largely due to Mr. Lyle's 
guidance in religious reading, his own bright example 
anil instructions, that Major Jackson attained that 
perfect assurance of faith which shed such sunshine 
over his latter years. He also taught him to cherish 
a high sense of the value of prayer, and to expect an 
answer to it. In taking a journey, he never parted 
from his wife without engaging in prayer ; before go. 
ing to his Sabbath-schools he always knelt in prayer, 
and so. in every act of life, -prayer was his vital 
breath." 

The first visit that my husband took me to pay af- 
ter my arrival at my new home was to his friend. Mr. 
Lyle. and his smiling and hearty " welcome to Lexing- 
ton " went directly to the heart of the stranger. He 
was then a partial paralytic, and it was not manv 
months until a final stroke removed him to a better 
world. As an evidence of the strong hold he had on 
the hearts of all who knew him. one who was not con- 
nectetl with him by any tie of blood had him buried 
in his own family lot in the cemetery, and marked the 
spot by a monument bearing this inscription : " He 
was the truest friend, the bravest man. and the best 
Christian ever known to him who erects this stone co 
his memory." 

The name of Dr. White, the good pastor, and his 
faithful under -shepherd. John B. Lyle. will long be 
fragrant memories in Lexington. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE PROFESSOR.— TRIP TO EUROPE —1851-1856. 

Major Jackson had never been a teacher before he 
became a professor in the Virginia Mihtary Institute, 
and when asked by a friend whether he did not feel dis- 
trustful of himself in undertaking so untried and ar- 
duous a course of instruction, he replied : " No ; I 
expect to be able to study sufficiently in advance of 
my classes; for one can always do what he lo'ills to ac- 
complish.''^ 

In this spirit he entered on his duties as a teacher, and 
discharged them with the same painstaking fidelity 
that he did everything else he undertook in life. His 
extreme conscientiousness constrained him to carry 
out to the very letter all the regulations of the school, 
and when he came into conflict either with superiors 
or inferiors, it was because they were disposed to prac- 
tise more policy and expediency than the rules pre- 
scribed. But we will let some of his colleagues in of- 
fice, and his friends in Lexington and elsewhere, give 
their testimony to his character as a teacher and an 
officer. The superintendent of the Institute, General 
Francis H. Smith, says : " The professorial career of 
Major Jackson was marked by great faithfulness, and 
by an unobtrusive yet earnest spirit. "With high men- 
tal endowments, teaching was a new profession to him, 
6 



S2 LIFE OF GENERAL THuMAS J. JACKSOX. 

and demanded, in the important department assigned 
him. an amount of labor which, from the state of his 
health, and especially from the weakness of his eyes, 
he perfonned at great sacrifice. Conscientious fidelity 
to duty marked every step of his life here, and when 
called to active duty in the field he had made consider- 
able progress in the preparation of an elementary work 
on optics, which he projwsed to publish for the benefit 
of his classes. Strict, and at times stern, in his disci- 
pline (though ever polite and kind), he was not always 
a jKipular professor; but no one ever possessed in a 
higher degree the confidence and resi>ect of the cadets, 
for his unbending integrity and fearlessness in the dis- 
charge of duty. If he were exact in his demands upon . 
them, they knew he was no less so in his own respect 
for and submission to authority. His great principle 
of government was that a general rule should not be 
violated for any particular good : and his animating 
rule of action was. that a man could accomplish what 
he willed to perform. For ten years he prosecuted his 
unwearied labors as a professor, making during that 
period, in no questionable form, such an imjirex« upon 
those who. from time to time, were under his command, 
that when the war broke out the spontaneous senti- 
ment of every cadet and graduate was to serve under 
him as their leader. 

'• The habit of mind of Major Jackson, long before he 
made a public profession of religion, was reverential. 
Devoutlv recoMizing the authoritv of Go<l. submis- 
sion to Him as his Divine Teacher and Guide soon 
matured into a confession of faith in him, and from 
that moment the "triple cord" — "not slothful in busi- 
ness, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" — bound him 



THE DEATH OF HIS FIRST WIFE. 83 

in simple and trustful obedience to his Divine Mas- 
ter." 

In the third year of Major Jackson's jirofessorship 
in the Military Institute a vacancy occurred in the 
Chair of Mathematics at the University of Virginia 
by the death of Professor Courtenay, and he was high- 
ly recommended by General Lee and others for the 
position, but, as was quite natural, the directors pre- 
ferred an alumnus of the University, and so elected 
Professor Bledsoe, an older and more experienced 
teacher. In the end it proved better that Major Jack- 
son remained at Lexington. 

Major Jackson was twice married — the first time in 
1853, August 4th, to Elinor, daughter of the Rev. Dr. 
George Junkin, President of Washington College, 
who is remembered by all who knew her as a person 
of singular loveliness of character ; as possessed of 
great natural intelligence, which was developed in a 
family of high cultivation ; while her native modesty 
and conscientiousness ripened, under parental culture, 
into a beautiful type of Christian womanhood. Thus 
she had every qualification to make a happy home. 
But this happiness was not to be of long duration. 
About fourteen months after the marriajje, in givinor 
birth to a child, that never breathed, the mother died 
also, so that all that was dearest to him on earth was 
laid in the grave. This was a terrible blow, for he was 
a devoted husband ; and his early life having been so 
isolated from home influences, family ties were more 
to him than to most persons. But his resignation to 
God's will was unshaken, and his Christian character 
became more mellowed and consecrated by this sad 
bereavementu 



84 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

A few extracts from his letters to his aunt, Mrs. 
Neale, will show the spirit in which he bore his afflic- 
tion: 

"February 16th, 1855. 

" Your kind letter, so full of sympathy and love, 
made a deep impression on my stricken heart. I can 
hardly realize yet that my dear Ellie is no more — that 
she will never again welcome my return — no more 
soothe m\^ troubled spirit by her ever kintl, sympa- 
thizing heart, words, and love. . . . She has left me 
such monuments of her love to God, and deep depend- 
ence upon her Saviour's merits, that were I not to be- 
lieve in her happiness, neither would I believe though 
one were to rise from the dead and declare it. God's 
promises change not. She was a child of God, and 
as such she is enjoying Him forever. ... I have 
suifered so much witli my ej^es lately that I have had 
great fears that I might lose them entirely, but all 
things are in the hands of a merciful Father, and 
to His will I hope ever cheerfully to submit. . . . 
My dear Ellie, when living, spoke of the beauty of 
your letters. I feel that had she lived she would 
have been in correspondence with you ; but now that 
cannot be in this sinful world, though it may be that 
an intimate friendship will exist between you in yon- 
der world of bliss whither she has gone. If she re- 
tains her pure, human affections there, I feel that she 
will derive pleasure from the acquaintance of any one 
who in this world loves me, or whom I love. And 
does she not retain love there ''i ' God is love.' I 
believe that she retains every pure, human attribute, 
and in a higher'state than when trammelled with flesh 
here. Oh, do you not long to leave the flesh and go to 



AT HIS WIFE'S GRAVE. 85 

God, and mingle with the just made perfect ? Of all 
the moments of life, there are none around which I 
cluster so much that is joyful. Yet I feel that I do 
not wish to go before it is the will of God, who with- 
holds no good thing from them that love Him. I 
thank my Heavenly Father that I can realize that 
blessed declaration. I frequently go to the dearest 
of earth's spots, the grave of her who was so pure 
and lovely — but she is not there. When I stand 
over the grave, I do not fancy that she is thus con- 
fined, but I think of her as having a glorified ex- 
istence." 

For a long time he visited her grave dailj', and al- 
ways stood 6ver it with uncovered head, absorbed in 
tender and loving memories. In one of his note-books 
appears the following entry, showing his desire to 
profit by his great sorrow : " Objects to be effected 
by Elbe's death : To eradicate ambition ; to eradicate 
resentment ; to produce humility. If you desire to be 
more heavenly-minded, think more of the things of 
heaven, and less of the things of earth." 

During the summer and fall of 1856, Major Jack- 
son made a tour through Europe, which covered a 
period of nearly five months. To a friend he wrote : 
" I was so urged by a concurrence of favorable cir- 
cumstances to visit Europe as to induce me to believe 
that the time had arrived for carrying out my long- 
contemplated trip, with which I was much charmed." 
He then goes on to speak in the most rapturous terms 
of " the romantic lakes and mountains of Scotland, 
the imposing abbeys and cathedrals of England ; the 
Rhine, with its castellated banks and luxuriant vine 



86 Lira OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

yards ; the sublime scenery of Switzerland, with her 
lofty Mont Blanc and massive Mer - de - Glace ; the 
vestiges of Venetian beauty; the sculpture and paint- 
ings of Italy; the ruins of Rome ; the beautiful Bay 
of Naples, illuminated by Vesuvius ; and lovel^^ France, 
with her gay capital," etc. Again he writes : 

" I would advise you never to name my European 
trip to me unless you are blest with a superabundance 
of patience, as its very mention is calculated to bring 
up with it an almost inexhaustible assemblage of 
grand and beautiful associations. Passing over the 
works of the Creator, which are far the most impres- 
sive, it is difficult to conceive of the influences which 
even the works of His creatures exercise over the 
mind till one loiters amidst their master ])roductions. 
Well do I remember the influence of sculpture upon 
me during my short stay in Florence, and how there 
I began to realize tlie sentiment of the Florentine : 
' Take from me my liberty, take from me what you 
will, but leave me my statuary, leave me these en- 
trancing productions of art." And similar to this is 
the influence of painting." 

In another letter he is enthusiastic over Powers's 
statue of II Penseroso, who " is represented as ivalk- 
ing abroad while absorbed in thought, with the finger 
of one hand resting upon the lip, while the other car- 
ries a train." 

His trip gave him boundless pleasure, and, although 
it was a hurried one, he managed to visit a great num- 
ber of places in the space of four months, as the fol- 
lowing letter to his aunt, Mrs. Neale, will show : 



VISIT TO EUROPE. 



S7 



" Lexington, Va., Oct. 37th, 1856. 
*' It is with much pleasure that God again permits me 
to write to you from m\' adopted home. Your kind- 
ness and that of uncle has not been forgotten; but 
when you hear where I have been during my short 
absence, you vnll not be surprised at not having heard 
from me, as my time was too short to see well all 
that came within the range of my journey. After 
leaving Liverpool I passed to Chester and Eaton 
Hall, and from there, returning, I visited Glasgow, 
Lochs Lomond and Katrine, Stirling Castle, Edin- 
burgh, York, London, Antwerp, Brussels, Waterloo, 
Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, Bonn, Frankfort -on -the - 
Main, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasburg, Basle, 
Lakes Lucerne, Brience, and Thun ; Berne, Freiburg, 
Geneva, the Mer de Glace, over the Alps by the Sim- 
plon Pass ; Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples, Rome, 
Marseilles, Paris, London, and Liverpool again, and 
then home. ... It appeared to me that Providence 
had opened the way for my long-contemplated visit, 
and I am much gratified at having gone." 

"When he set out on this foreign tour, like other en- 
thusiastic travellers, he began with a resolution to 
keep a journal, in which he would give a minute de- 
scription of all that he saw from day to day ; but when 
he was fairly in the heart of Old England, he found 
himself so absorbed with the sights and scenes that 
crowded upon his attention that his " Journal " sub- 
sides into mere jottings of places and objects which 
are of interest chiefly to his family. During these 
months he acquired such a knowledge of French that 
for j'ears after it was his custom to read his Scripture 
niornins lesson in a French Testament. 



88 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

In crossing the ocean he gave himself ample time 
to reach home at the expiration of his furlough, but 
the steamer failed to make the trip in the usual num- 
ber of days. At this his friends, who knew him to 
be the very soul of punctuality, expressed their won- 
der at his failure to "come up to time." Upon his 
arrival, as soon as the fii-st greetings were over, and 
he had explained the cause of his detention, one of 
them exclaimed : " But, Major, haven't you been mis- 
erable since the beginnino: of the month ? You are 
■so particular in keeping your appointments that we 
imagined you were beside yourself with impatience." 
"Not at all," he replied; "I did all in my power to 
be here at the appointed time ; but when the steamer 
was delayed by Providence, my responsibility was at 
an end." The great object of his journey Avas at- 
tained. Aside from the pleasure of seeing foreign 
countries, his health was perfectly restored, and he 
Tvas ready to resume his work. 



■ ■>-{ 



CHAPTER V:i. 

SECOND MARRIAGE.— HOME LIFE.— 1857-1868. 

In writing these memoirs, it has been my aim, up 
to this period, to keep myself in the background as 
much as possible ; but in what follows, mj^ own life 
is so bound up with that of my husband that the 
reader will have to pardon so much of self as must 
necessarily be introduced to continue the story of his 
domestic life and to explain the letters that follow. 

I trust it will not be out of place to give a very brief 
insight into my early life, knowing full well that what- 
ever interest is awakened in me is only a reflected one, 
arising solely from the fact of my having been the 
wife of General Jackson. The home of my girlhood 
was a large, old-fashioned house, surrounded by an 
extensive grove of fine forest trees, on a plantation in 
Lincoln Countj^ North Carolina. My father, the Eev. 
Dr. R. H. Morrison, a Presbyterian minister, had in 
his earlier life been a pastor in towns, and was the first 
president of Davidson College, in North Carolina ; but, 
his health having failed, he sought a country home for 
rest and restoration, and reared his large family of ten 
children principally in this secluded spot, where he was 
able to preach to a group of country churches. He 
was graduated from the University of North Carolina, 
in the year 1818, in a class with President Polk, Bish- 
op Green, of Mississippi, and several other men of em- 



90 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

inence in church and state. He was always a good 
student, and his own home furnished the best school 
for his children until the girls were old enough to be 
sent ofiP to boarding-school and tlie boj's to college.* 

* The Dames of these children were : 

1st. Isabella, who married General D. H. Hill. 

2d. 'William Wilberforce (of the Confederate army), who died 
in 186.5, a victim of the war. 

3d. Harriet, married Mr. James P. Irwin, of Charlotte, N. C. 

4th. Mary Anna, wife of General Thomas .1. Jackson. 

5th. Eugenia, married General Rufus Barringer, of X. C. 

6th. Susan, married Judge A. C. Avery, of N. C. 

7th. Laura, married Colonel J. E. Brown, of Charlotte, N. C. 

8th. Joseph Graham, married Jennie Davis, of Salisbury, N. C. 

9th. Robert Hall, married Lucy Reid, of Iredell County, N. C. 

10th. Alfred J., married Portia Lee Atkinson, daughter of Rev. 
Dr. J. M. P. Atkinson, of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia. 

Alfred, the Benjamin and flower of the flock, followed the sacred 
calling of his father. Gifted in mind and person and winning 
in manner, he gave promise of great usefulness in the church. 
He was settled as pastor of a Presbyterian church in Selma, Ala- 
bama,' where his labors had been greatly blessed, but at the end 
of six months his career was cut short by typhoid fever. 

My honored and beloved father long outlived his son, having 
attained the age of ninety years. As he died since this biography 
was commenced, I cannot refrain from quoting a brief tribute by 
my p.istor to his memory : 

" Descended from a sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry, he inherited 
those qualities of mind and heart which, hallowed by grace, made 
him an honor to the age and a blessing to the world. Called by 
the Saviour in the morning of life, he obeyed the voice of the gra- 
cious Shepherd, and followed Him faithfully to its close. Four 
times a year he read the Bible through from beginning to end, study- 
ing all the commentaries that could throw light upon its sacred 
pages. Those, with daily communion with God. and the reading 
of devotional books, were the sources of his truly heavenly piety. 
Literary tastes were sanctified, and mind and heart found their 



DR. MORRISON AND GENERAL GRAHAM. 91 

In those good old times before the war many wealthy 
families lived upon their plantations, and the neigh- 
borhood in which my father lived was noted for its 
excellent society, retinement, and hospitality. My 
mother was Mary Graham,* daughter of General Jo- 

higliest satisfjiction and enjoyment in the green pastures of divine 
truth and beside the still waters of divine consolation. The grand 
doctrines of grace entered into and moulded his Christian experi- 
ence, and made him humble and prayerful, cheerful and strong, 
decided but liberal, active and zealous, steadfast, immovable, and 
always abounding in the work of the Lord. In his latter years 
all of his income — after providing for his personal wants — was de- 
voted to the Gospel, not restricting himself to his own, but assist- 
ing other denominations of Christians. 

" Davidson College, of which he was the founder, has risen to 
eminence among the institutions of America. It.s high standard 
commands the respect of the whole country, whilst the moral in- 
fluences which govern and surround it are unsurpassed. During 
the fifty-two years of its existence, it has given to the church two 
hundred ministers of the Gospel I Who is able to compute the 
sum total of blessing accruing to the world from this one source 
alone ? Who is able to measure its influence for good through 
all coming time ? And who is able to estimate the indebted- 
ness of society, the state, and the cluircli to its noble founder ? 
Davidson College is his monument, for which generations yet un- 
born will rise up and bless the name of Dr. Robert Hall Morrison. 

" He has left to his descendants the rich legacy of an honored 
name, a holy life, an elevated Christian character, and many 
fervent prayers which have been, and are yet to be, answered in 
blessings on their heads — a legacy infinitely more precious than 
all the diadems and treasures of earth." 

•The name of Graham recalls that of my mother's father. Gen- 
eral Joseph Graliam, a name well known in our Revolutionary 
annals. He entered the army at nineteen years of age. At tlie 
end of two yearsof arduous and responsilile service he was strick- 
en down by a severe and lingering illness, but returning health 



92 UfE Of GEXEBAL THOXaS J. JaCKSOI:. 

seph Graham, and st^er of the Hod. William A. Gra- 
ham, who was successively GoreriKV of Xonh Caro- 
fina. United States SoaatM-. and Secretary of the Xary 
dmring Presidetit Filfanore''3 administration. Having 
seen a good dead oi the world in her yoong days, my 
moth^ was anxioas'to give her daughters the same 
pkasnre, and we were indulged in charming trips 
whenever it was practicaUe: bat. there being six 
ds^^ters, we had to take these trips by toms. My 
beantifol yoonger sister Engenia and I left sdnxd at 
the same time, came oat as yooi^ ladies together, and 
never were two sisters happier or more onited in mot- 
nal affiftrtinw and eonfidenee. We were simj^ ooon- 

tke war iaraded Ids owa 
Goiml Gie^ witMif tonuds 

llfci iii—iiil iifTtii I I |iii ihiih 

-GeBcninmes. ¥ormamftult» 
r« hmemB emnirj, said to be tke 

r advwBce had Beaiiy doaed Mb eaicer. Afio-aaay 

> to din« AoB back, he Sell, fiter- 

'dU he lecover dna he 

Aefaid. The seniee vhick Btfv fcfl to Us lot 

.hasfaaBaad oftcBhadaoae; a^, woe i 

thei 




VISIT TO WASHIXGTOX. 93 

tr}- maidens, knowing little of the world outside of 
our father's home, where all was purity, peace, and 
contentment. 

My first revelation of the gay world was a visit to 
my uncle Graham, in "Washington, during the last 
year of Mr. Fillmore's administration. Washington 
was then a rather small, old-fashioned city compared 
with its present expansion and magnificence, but to a 
little country girl, in 1853, it was the grandest and 
most charming place that she had ever seen. Two 
other young ladies were guests of my uncle at the 
same time, and we formed a most congenial and hap- 
py trio during my delightful stay of four months. 
Being "Cabinet ladies," we, of course, were invited 
to all the grand entertainments, and though none of 
us were dancing girls (for myself, as a minister's 
daughter, it would not have been considered proper), 
certainly we did not need it to complete our enjoy- 
ment. 

One of our red-letter evenings was a select social tea 
at the White House, the charming hostess. Miss Fill- 
more, being equal in cultivation and accomplishments 
to any one who has filled the position of " first lady 
of the land." Her mother was living, and, of course, 
took precedence of the daughter, but the latter was 
hostess to her young friends on this evening. We had 
some very delightful music on the harp, one lady sing- 
ing "Auld Eobin Gray" with exquisite beauty and 
pathos. 

Upon my return home, my younger sister, Eugenia, 
was to have a trip to Lexington, Virginia, which at 
that time was the home of our oldest sister, who had 
married Major D. H. HiU (afterwards general in the 



94 LIKE OF GEXKKAL THOMAS J, JACKSON. 

Confederate army), a professor in Washington College. 
One of my father's ekler-s and friends, Eobert I. McDow- 
ell, was a delegate to the General Assembly at Philadel- 
phia, and kindly offered to escort Eugenia on her jour- 
ney. Having recently returned from so long a visit 
to Washington, it never entered into my head even to 
wish that 1 might be permitted to accompany my sis- 
ter, and my astonisiiment can be imagined when she 
came bounding into my room in a perfect ecstasy, ex- 
claiming: "Oh, sister, father says ijou may go, too!" 
Being a very dependent younger sister, and always 
shrinking, on account of shyness, from going any- 
where alone, it may be that she had put in a plea for 
me to accompany her that was irresistible ; but, at all 
events, no plan could have been more delightful than 
for us to make this visit together, and two more joy- 
ous young creatures never set out upon a journey, the 
entire unexpectedness of my being one of the party 
filling the cup of our happiness. 

At that time North Carolina had only a few rail- 
roads, none near to us, going north ; but there was one 
running from Charlotte to Charleston, South Carolina, 
and our escort chose this circuitous route, via Charles- 
ton, Wilmington, and Richmond, rather than travel by 
coach across the country. 

This long journey, instead of proving wearisome to 
us, was a source of genuine enjoyment, especially as 
we took it by easy stages. We spent one night in 
Columbia, which we bad time to see in its lovely May 
dress, with its enchanting old private gardens, with 
their wealth of flowers and evergreens. At Charles- 
ton we spent only a few hours, but our drive through 
it to take the steamer gave us a glimpse of this city 



FIRST VISIT TO LEXINGTON. 95 

by the sea. Our rapture then reached its acme, when 
we beheld for the first time the ocean, and had a sail 
of twenty-four hours upon it to Wilmington. It was 
a perfect afternoon, the sunset was superb, and, as 
we escaped seasickness, we were able to enjoy every- 
thing:. From Wilminu-ton to Ilichraond we travelled bv 
rail, and expected at the latter place to part with our 
escort, but he chivalrously volunteered to see us to our 
journey's end, and accompanied us all the way to Lex- 
ington. From Staunton to Lexington we travelled by 
stage-coach. LTpon our arrival, my sister. Mrs. Hill, 
was as much surprised at seeing me as I was at 
being permitted to take tlie trip, for she was expect- 
ing only one of her young sisters to visit her that 
summer. 

General Hill has told of the links in the chain of 
Providence that led Major Jackson to Lexington. Of 
course, I cannot but look upon it as a sjiecial Provi- 
dence that led me there to meet him who was to be 
my future husband, and to know him as a friend, with- 
out tlie remotest idea, on liis part or mine, that we 
could ever be to each other anvthing more. 

Through the letters of Major and Mrs. Hill, we had 
heard of their friend. Major Jackson, and his engage- 
ment to Miss Elinor Junkin had been confided to them 
before we went to Lexington, so that before we met 
him we knew that he was soon to be married. He 
was very intimate at the house of Major Hill, and was 
the first gentleman to call ujion us, his regard for our 
relatives giving him a very friendly feeling towards 
us. His greeting was most cordial, and he ver\' soon 
offered his services in tlie kindest manner, telling us 
that if Major Hill was ever too much engaged to give 



96 I^I^'E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

US every needful attention, we must call upon him as 
we would upon a brother. 

My first impression was that he was more soldierly- 
looking than anything else, his erect bearing and mil- 
itary dress being quite striking ; but upon engaging in 
conversation, his open, animated countenance, and his 
clear complexion, tinged with the ruddy glow of health, 
were still more pleasing. The descriptions of his per- 
sonal appearance dififer so much that I must be per- 
mitted to give mine, which surely ought to be true to 
life. His head was a splendid one, large and finely 
formed, and covered with soft, dark-brown hair, which, 
if allowed to grow to any length, cui'led ; but he had 
a horror of long hair for a man, and clung to the con- 
ventional style, d la militaire, of wearing very close- 
cut hair and short side-whiskers. After he was per- 
suaded to turn out a full beard, it was much more be- 
coming to hira, his beard being a heavy and handsome 
brown, a shade lighter than his hair. His forehead 
was noble and expansive, and always fair, from its 
protection by his military cap. His eyes were blue- 
gray in color, large, and well-formed, capable of won- 
derful changes with his varying emotions. His nose 
was straight and finely chiselled, his mouth small, and 
his face oval. His profile was very fine. All his feat- 
ures were regular and symmetrical, and he was at all 
times manly and noble-looking, and when in robust 
health he was a handsome man. 

His manners were rather stiff, but they had a cer- 
tain dignity which showed that he was not an ordi- 
nary man. His uniform, consisting of a dark -blue 
frock-coat with shoulder-straps, double-breasted, and 
buttoned up to the chin with brass buttons, and fault- 



OUR "MILITARY ESCORT." 97 

less white linen pantaloons, was very becoming to 
him. 

My young sister and I were at the age when girls 
can see fun in everything, and while fully appreciating 
the warmth of his kindness, we were silly enough to 
make ourselves very merry over the role he had as- 
sumed in offering himself as a brother to us, and we 
never looked upon him as a beau any more than we 
would upon a man who was already married. With 
this perfect understanding of the situation, we came 
to know him very intimately, a day rarely passing 
without his calling for a few moments; and having 
adopted us as his protei/ees, he came every Sunday 
evening to see if we were provided with escorts for 
church. My beautiful young sister was more of a 
belle than I, and was scarcely ever without an engage- 
ment of this kind, so it fell to my lot to share the 
brotherly wing of the major oftener than to her. I 
always felt that he would have chosen her first if the 
opportunity offered, but neither of us had any greater 
hesitation in accepting his escort than we would that 
of Major Hill. We both felt that he was a delightful 
and never-failing stand-by, as he always kept out of 
the way if any other young men wished to pay their 
respects, only offering his services when they were 
needed. But he often took us on long strolls into 
the country, and contributed in every way that he 
could to our enjoyment as long as he remained. We 
teased him a great deal, which he alwa>'S took good- 
naturedlj^ but never once admitted to us the fact of 
his engagement, and his fiancee and he were rarely 
seen together in public. This was in deference to her 
wishes, and they both kept their secret so well guard- 
7 



98 LliE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ed that, when their marriage was announced it took 
the town by surprise. We were in Lexington at the 
time. He had bidden us good-by, and gone off in the 
beginning of his summer vacation, and we thouglit we 
had seen the last of the major, as we were to return 
home before his professorial duties called him back. 

That visit to Lexington, to us, was as charming as 
charming could be. Arriving there, as we did, in the 
month of May, that mountain country was arrayed in 
all its spring beauty, and there could not have been a 
more propitious season for social enjoyment to young^ 
people than just before the commencements of tlie 
two large institutions. We were there long enough 
in ailyance to make many pleasant acquaintances, 
and, that being the gay season of the town, there were 
a succession of entertainments and a round of par- 
ties, at which there was always music, but never danc- 
ing or card-playing. A more cultivated and religious 
community was not to be found; and the numerous 
young men there at the time, embracing ])rofessors, 
theological and college students, cadets, and citizens, 
seemed to vie with each other in showing courtesj^ to 
the young ladies, of whom there was an unusually large 
circle there that summer. After the commencements 
were over, the greater part of our acquaintances left for 
their homes, or for new scenes of recreation during the 
vacation. But even after the cessation of tlie round of 
gayety, and when the College and the Institute were 
empty, there were enough residents left to afford us a 
very delightful, though quiet, time to the end of our visit. 

One August morning we were taken by surprise 
when our friend Major Jackson suddenly dropped in, 
and our many exclamations of wonder at seeing him 



A SISTER'S MARRIAGE. 99 

amused him as much as his unexpected appearance 
astonished us. The reunion was a merry one, and he 
spent an hour or more, calling for his favorite songa 
and seeming genuinely happy ; but not even a hint 
did he give us as to the object of liis return, although 
we plied him with all sorts of teasing questions. We 
saw him no more, but were electrified the next morn- 
ing at hearing that he and Miss EUie Junkin were 
married, and had gone North on a bridal tour ! 

After our return home, my sister and I became ab- 
sorbed in our old associations, and while retaining the 
most pleasant and grateful recollections of our kind 
friend Major Jackson, we lost sight of him entirely ; 
and as Major and Mrs. Hill removed from Lexington, 
our communication with the place was cut off. 

The following spring after our return, Eugenia was 
married to a young lawyer of Xorth Carolina, Mr. 
Rufus Barringer, who during the war became a gen- 
eral in the Confederate army. 

The loss of her sweet companionship was, up to that 
time, the greatest trial of my life. For three years 
after, I lived at home " in maiden meditation, fancy- 
free" — little dreaming what the future held in store for 
me ; for I can truthfully say that my fate was as much 
of a surprise to me as it couiJ. have been to any one 
else. We had heard with sincere sorrow and sympa- 
thy of the death of Mrs. Jackson ; but afterwards noth- 
ing was heard from the major, except in an incidental 
way. However, he was given to surpinses, and after 
returning from Eui'ope with restored health and spir- 
its he began to realize that life could be made bright 
and happy to him again, and in revolving this problem 
in his mind his first impulse was to open communica- 

L.ofC. 



100 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

tion with his old friend Miss Anna Morrison, and see 
if she could not be induced to become a participant in 
attaining his desired happiness. So, to my great sur- 
prise, the first letter I ever received from him came to 
me expressing such blissful memories over reminis- 
cences of the summer we had been together in Lex- 
ington that my sister Eugenia laughed most heartily 
over it, and predicted an early visit from the major. 
Still, I was incredulous, and when her prediction was 
verified in a very short time, and I saw a tall form, 
in military dress, walking up from my father's gate, 
I could scarcely believe my senses. His visit was 
brief, as he had asked for a leave of absence in the 
midst of the session, promising to return on a certain 
day, and it mattered not how much success or fascina- 
tion enchained him, he would not indulge himself one 
moment beyond the limit of his time. My father was 
highly pleased with him as a Christian gentleman, and 
my mother was also favorably impressed, especially 
with his extreme politeness, so that his visit was one 
of mutual congeniality and enjoyment. I was always 
thankful that our acquaintance and friendship had 
been formed in a perfectly disinterested waj^, without 
a thought on either side that we should ever occupy 
a closer relation. 

He was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating 
the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one 
of the "unappropriated blessings" under the type of 
truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bach- 
elor friends could be fortunate enough to win her. 

Some extracts from his letters after our engage- 
ment will show the tenderness of his nature, and how 
with this human affection were mingled a boundless 



EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS. 101 

love and gratitude to Him who was the giver of all. 
Upon hearing of the death of an idolized little boy, 
the son of Major Hill, he writes : " I wrote to Major 
and Mrs. Hill a few days since, and my pra3'er is that 
this heavy affliction may be sanctified to them. I 

was not surprised that little M was taken away, 

as I have long regarded his father's attachment to 
him as too strong; that is, so strong that he would 
be unwilling to give him up, though God should call 
for his own. I do not believe that an attachment 
ever is, or can be, absolutely too strong for any object 
of our affections; but our love to God may not be 
strong enough. We may not love Him so intensely as 
to have no will but His. ... Is there not a comfort in 
prayer which is nowhere else to be found?" 

"April 25th, 1857. It is a great comfort to me to 
know that although I am not with you, yet you are 
in the hands of One who will not permit any evil to 
come nigh you. What a consoling thought it is to 
know that we may, with perfect confidence, commit 
all our friends in Jesus to the care of our Heavenly 
Father, with an assurance that all will be well with 
them ! . . . I have been sorely disappointed at not 
hearing from you this morning, but these disajjpoint- 
ments are aU designed for our good. 

'' In my daily walks I think much of you. I love to 
stroll abroad after the labors of the day are over, and 
indulge feelings of gratitude to God for all the sources 
of natural beauty with which he has adorned the 
earth. Some time since, my morning walks were ren- 
dered very delightful by the singing of the birds. The 
morning carolling of the birds, and their sweet notes 



102 I^IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON". 

in the evenino', awaken in me devotional feeling's of 
praise and thanksgiving, though very different in their 
nature. In the morning, all animated nature (man ex- 
cepted) appears to join in expressions of gratitude to 
God ; in the evening, all is hushing into silent slumber, 
and thus disposes the mind to meditation. And as 
my mind dwells on you, I love to give it a devotional 
turn, by thinking of you as a gift from our Heavenly 
Father. IIow delightful it is thus to associate every 
pleasure and enjoyment with God the Giver! Thus 
will He bless us, and make us grow in grace, and in 
the knowledge of Him, whom to know aright is life 
eternal." 

" May 7th. I wish I could be with you to-morrow 
at your communion. Though absent in body, yet in 
sj)irit I shall be present, and my prayer will be for 
your growth in every Christian grace. ... I take 
special pleasure in the part of my ])rayers in which I 
beg that every temporal and spiritual blessing may 
be yours, and that the glory of God may be the con- 
trolling and absorbing thougiitof our lives in our new 
relation. It is to me a great satisfaction to feel that 
our Heavenly Father has so manifestly ordered our 
xmion. I believe, and am persuaded, that if we but 
walk in His commandments, acknowledffinff Him in 
all our ways. He will shower His blessings upon us. 
How delightful it is to feel that we have such a 
friend, who changes not I The Christian's recogni- 
tion of God in all His works greatly enhances his en- 
joyment." 

" May 16th. There is something very pleasant in 



HIS SECOND MARRIAGE. 103 

the thought of your mailing me a letter every Mon- 
day ; such manifestation of regard for the Sabbath 
must be well-pleasing in the sight of God. Oh that 
all our people would manifest such a regard for his 
holy day ! If we would all strictly observe his holy 
laws, what would not our country be 'i . . . When in 
prayer for you last Sabbath, the tears canie to my eyes, 
and I realized an unusual degree of emotional tender- 
ness. I have not yet fully analyzed my feelings to my 
satisfaction, so as to arrive at the cause of such emo- 
tions ; but I am disposed to think that it consisted in 
the idea of the intimate relation existing between you, 
as the object of my tender affection, and God, to 
whom I looked up as my Heavenly Father. I felt that 
day as if it were a C(^mmunion day for myself." . . . 

" June 20th. I never remember to have felt so touch- 
ingly as last Sabbath the pleasure springing from the 
thought of prayers ascending for my welfare from 
one tenderly beloved. There is something very de- 
lightful in such spiritual communion." 

On the 16th of July, 1857, we were married. It 
was a quiet little home wedding, and the ceremony 
was performed by a favorite old ministerial friend of 
mine, Eev. Dr. Druiy Lacy. • My father could not 
trust his emotional nature enough to marry any of 
his daughters. 

Whether or not it was in his usual formula, or 
whether he was impressed by the very determined 
and unbending look of the mihtary bridegroom. Dr. 
Lacy made him promise to be an " indulgent husband," 
laying special stress upon the adjective ; but he was 



104 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

equally emphatic in exacting obedience on the part of 
the bride. 

The most memorable incident of the occasion to 
me was that my trousseau, wliich had been ordered 
from New York in am])le time, arrived only a few 
hours before the ceremony, and I had been compelled 
to improvise a bridal outKt, in the certain expectation 
of disappointment. However, the old adage " All's 
well that ends well" was verified in this case, as every 
article of my ordering was a perfect fit, and entirely 
satisfactory ; and the trustful major had reassured rae 
all along that they would come in time. This was one 
of the "special providences" which he loved to re- 
count. His bridal gifts to me were a beautiful gold 
watch and a lovely set of seed pearls. 

A few days after our marriage we set out upon a 
Northern tour. The trip included visits to Richmond, 
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Saratoga, and Ni- 
agara. In New York we saw almost everything that 
was to be seen in the way of sicrht-seeino:, even climb- 
ing to the top of the spire of Trinity Church, to take 
a bird's-eye view of the magnificent panorama which 
it overlooks. The view was indeed grand, embracing 
the whole city — graceful, sparkling rivers; the bay 
and sound, studded with vessels in motion and at 
rest ; and beautiful rural scenery stretching out as far 
as the eye could reach. 

But the places that combined the greatest amount 
of interest and pleasure were Niagara and Saratoga. 
No man delighted more in viewing the grand and won- 
derful works of the Creator, and in looking " through 
nature up to nature's God." At Saratoga he took 
not a particle of interest in the gay and fashionable 



IN THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA. 105 

throng, but the natural beauties of the place charmed 
him, and he found a delightful recreation in rowing 
me over the lovely lake, whose placid waters were, at 
that time, covered with water-lilies. 

After completing this delightful l^J'orthem tour, we 
wended our way to the Rockbridge Alum Sjirings, a 
very pleasant mountain resort in the Valley qf Vir- 
ginia, and only a few hours from Lexington. Here 
we remained several weeks, or until the beginning of 
the session at the Institute ; enjoying the quiet, and 
spending the time in reading, walking, and sitting 
in the woods ; the delicious mountain air and fine 
scenery giving a zest to existence, and sending us 
away regretfully when duty called us home. Major 
Jackson derived great benefit from the mineral waters 
of the Rockbridge Alum Springs, and it was a favorite 
resort of his. Upon our return to Lexington we livetl 
for a few months at the best hotel in the place ; but he 
was not at all fond of boarding, and longed for the 
time when he could have a home of his own. In a 
letter to a friend he saj's : " I hope in the course of 
time we shall be able to call some house our home, 
where we may have the pleasure of receiving a long 
visit from you. I shall never be content until I am 
at the head of an establishment in which my friends 
can feel at home in Lexington. I have taken the first 
important step by securing a wife capable of making 
a happy home, and the next thing is to give her an 
opportunity." 

Doctor Dabney truly says of General Jackson that 
" in no man were the domestic affections ever more 
tender and noble. He who saw only the stern, self- 
denying soldier in his quarters, amidst the details of 



106 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the commander's duties, or on the field of battle, could 
scarcely comprehend the gentle sweetness of his home 
life. There the cloud, which to his enemies was only 
night and tempest, displayed nothing but the ' silver 
lining.' In his household the law of love reigned : his 
own pattern was the chief stimulus to duty ; and his 
sternest rebuke, when he beheld any recession from 
gentleness or propriety, was to say, half tenderly, half 
sadly : ' Ah ! that is not the way to be happy !' " 
Bayard Taylor's beautiful lines : 

"Tlie bravest are tlie tenderest. 
The loving are the daring," 

found a true exemplification in him, of which his 
letters will be the best proof. 

A few months after our marriage he proposed that 
we should study together the Shorter Catechism as a 
Sabbath-afternoon exercise, and it was not long until 
we committed it to memory — he reciting it to me 
with perfect accuracy from beginning to end. This 
he had not been taught in his \'outh, although he had 
read it carefully before committing himself to Presby- 
terianism. He considered it a model of sound doc- 
trine, as he did also the Confession of Faith ; but his 
chief study was the Bible itself, which was truly " a 
lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path." 

After boarding more than a year, he finally suc- 
ceeded in purchasing a house in Lexington, the only 
available one he could obtain, and it was his intention 
to sell it and build one to suit himself in the course of 
time. But unsuitable as this large, old house was for 
his small family, it was genuine happiness to him to 
have a home of his own : it was the first one he had 
ever possessed, and it was truly his castle. He lost 



UNDER OUR OWX ROOF-TREE. 



lor 



no time in going to work to repair it and make it 
comfortable and attractive. His tastes were simple, 
but he liked to have everything in perfect oi-der — 
every door " on golden hinges softly turning,"' as he 
expressed it; "a place for everything, and everything 
in its place ;" and under his methodical management 




THE JACKSON DWELLING, LEXINGTON. 

his household soon became as regular and well-or- 
dered as it was possible for it to be with negro ser- 
vants. His furniture was very plain, though of ex- 
cellent materials; but simplicity itself marked every 
article. A lady said it was just her idea of a Chris- 
tian home. He believed in providing his family with 
every comfort and convenience, for which he spared 



108 LIFE 0¥ GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

no expense. lie was intensely fond of his home, and 
it was there he found his greatest happiness. Tiiere 
all that was best in his nature shone forth, shedding 
sweetness and light over his household. 

Those who knew General Jackson only as they saw 
him in public would have found it hard to believe that 
there could be such a transformation as he exhibited 
in his domestic life. He luxuriated in the freedom 
and liberty of his home, and his buoyancy and joyous- 
ness of nature often ran into a playfulness and abatv- 
don that would have been incredible to those who 
saw him only when he put on his official dignity. 
The overflowing sunshine of his heart was a reflection 
from the Sun of liighteousness, and he always said 
we could not love an earthly creature too much if we 
only loved God more. He was generous but unosten- 
tatious in his mode of living, and nothing gave him 
more pleasure than to welcome his friends to his sim- 
ple and hospitable home. He particularly delighted 
in entertaining ministers of the Gospel. 

His garden was a source of very great pleasure to 
him : he worked in it a great deal with his own hands, 
and cultivated it in quite a scientific way. He stud- 
ied Buist's Kitchen Garden, and had an elaborate cal- 
endar for planting, which was given him by an en- 
thusiastic brother-ofiicer in the army. So successful 
was he as a gardener that he raised more vegetables 
than his family could consume. His early training 
upon his uncle's farm had instilled into him a love for 
rural pursuits, and it was not long until he gratified 
his desire to possess a little farm of his own, which 
embraced twenty acres near town. Here, with the 
aid of his negroes, he raised wheat, corn, and other 



ORDER OF THE DAYS DUTIES. 109 

products, and every year his crops and land improved 
under his diligent care. This farm he sold during the 
war, and invested the proceeds in Confederate bonds 
to assist the government. 

His life at home was perfectly regular and system- 
atic. He arose about six o'clock, and first knelt in 
secret prayer; then he took a cold bath, which was 
never omitted even in the coldest days of winter. 
This was followed by a brisk walk, in rain or shine 
(for with a pair of india-rubber cavalry boots and a 
heavy army overcoat he was independent of the weath- 
er), and he returned, looking the picture of freshness 
and animation. 

Seven o'clock was the hour for family prayers, 
which he required all his servants to attend prompt- 
ly and regularly. He never waited for any one, not 
even his wife. 

Breakfast followed prayers, after which he left im- 
mediately for the Institute, his classes opening at 
eight o'clock and continuing until eleven. He was 
engaged in teaching only three hours a day, except 
for a few weeks before the close of the session, when 
the artillery practice demanded an additional hour 
in the afternoon. Upon his return home at eleven 
o'clock, he devoted himself to study until one. The 
first book he took up daily was his Bible, which he 
read with a commentary, and the many pencil-marks 
upon it showed with what care he bent over its pages. 
From his Bible lesson he turned to his text-books, 
which engaged him until dinner, at one o'clock. Dur- 
ing these hours of study he would not permit any in- 
terruption, and stood all that time in front of a high 
desk, which he had had made to order, and upon 



110 LIFE OF GENEKAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

which he kept his books and stationery. After din- 
ner he gave himself up for half an hour or more to 
leisure and conversation, and this was one of the 
briglitest periods in the home life. He then went 
into his garden, or out to his farm to supei'intend his 
servants, and frequently joined them in manual labor. 
He would often drive nie out to the farm, and find a 
shady spot for me under the trees, while he attended 
to the work of tlie field. When this was not the case, 
he always returned in time to take me, if tlie weather 
permitted, for an ev^ening walk or drive. In summer 
we often took our drives by moonlight, and in that 
beautiful Valley of Virginia tlie queen of night seemed 
to shine with more brightness than anywhere else ; 
but, leaving all romance out of the question, there 
could be no more delightful way of spending the long 
summer evening. When at home, he would indulge 
himself in a season of rest and recreation after supper, 
thinking it was injurious to health to go to work im- 
mediately. As it was a rule with him never to use his 
eyes by artificial light, he formed the habit of study- 
■ ing mentally for an hour or so without a book. After 
going over his lessons in the morning, he thus re- 
viewed them at night, and in order to abstract his 
thoughts from surrounding objects — a liabit which he 
had cultivated to a remarkable degree — he would, if 
alone with his wife, ask that he miglit not be dis- 
turbed by any conversation, and he would tiien take 
his seat with his face to the wall, and remain in 
perfect abstraction until he finished his mental task, 
when he would emerge with a bright and cheerful 
face into social enjoyment again. He was very fond 
of being read to, and much of our time in the even- 



HIS "STUDY" AT HOME. HI 

ings was passed in my ministering to him in this way. 
At first he fitted up a study for himself, but having no 
children, he gradually came to making our large, pleas- 
ant living-room his study, and finally moved his up- 
right desk into it, having become assured that he 
would meet with no interruption, either in his morn- 
ing work, or when he sat with face to the wall, as 
silent and as dumb as the sphinx, reviewing his les- 
sons in the evening. He had a library, which, though 
small, was select, composed chiefly of scientitic, his- 
torical, and religious books, with some of a lighter 
character, and some in Spanish and French. Nearly 
all of them were full of his pencil marks, made with a 
view to future reference. 

The few years spent so happily and peacefully in 
this little home were unmarketl by an j' events important 
to the outside world. One little bud of promise was 
sent for a brief period to awaken new hopes of do- 
mestic joy and comfort, but it pleased God to trans- 
plant it to heaven before these hopes could be real- 
ized. The father, in announcing the arrival of the 
infant to its grandmother, commences thus : " Dear 
mother, we have in our home circle a darling little 
namesake of yours, and she is a bright little one, her 
father being the judge. . . ." And he concludes by say- 
ing : " I hope it will not be many years before our little 
Mary Graham will be able to send sweet little mes- 
sages to you all." The child lived only a few weeks, 
and its loss was a great, very great, sorrow to him. 
But here, as always, religion subdued every murmur. 
Great as was his love for children, his spirit of sub- 
mission was greater, and even in this bitter disappoint- 
ment he bowed uncomplaining to his Father's will. 



CHAPTEK Vin. 

HOME LIFE CONTINUED— 1868-1859. 

The summer of 1858 was ushered in with sorrow, 
bringing my first taste of bitter bereavement. Soon 
after the loss of om- first-born, another crushing stroke 
came in the death of my sister Eugenia, who had always 
been to me like a twin sister, so united and happy had 
been our early lives together. She left two little chil- 
dren motherless, and I was not permitted to be with 
her at the time of her death ; so it seemed as if my cup 
of trial was full. But all that love and sympathy could 
suggest to alleviate a first grief was done for me by 
my good husband, and his own beautiful example of 
resignation and cheerfulness was a rebuke to me. 

That summer was spent at the North. He was 
never willing to be separated from his wife, unless 
duty or necessity required it — his desire being to share 
his every pleasure with her, without whom it would 
not be complete. His vacations were seasons of great 
recreation and enjoyment to him. He was fond of 
travelling, and liked the bracing climate of the North- 
ern States. When worn down by the labors of his 
professorship, he used to say that he hatl " a periodical 
longing to go Xorth," and this he gratified every sum- 
mer after our marriage, until the beginning of the war. 
He always returned home much refreshed and bene- 
fited by these excursions. 



IN THE CITY OF XEW YORK. II3 

He had never visited Fortress Monroe, and he seemed 
to think that was a duty he owed himself; so this 
summer of 1858 we took that point in our route, 
and spent a few days there — he passing much of his 
time in the fort, and acquainting himself with every 
part of it. We then went by steamer to Cape May, 
where he luxuriated in the surf bathing. Another 
delightful trip b\- steamer took us to New York, whei'e 
we spent several weeks, for the purpose of having his 
throat treated by a specialist. He was affected with 
a slight bronchial trouble, but was not at all an invalid 
in any other respect. While in the city, a part of each 
day was devoted to sight-seeing. He generally went 
out alone in the morning on an exploring expedition, 
being an indefatigable walker, and then he would re- 
turn and take me to the ])laces which he thought 
would most interest me. Tims the time was passed 
most agreeably in driving and seeing every place of 
interest in and around the city. The Diisseldorf Art 
Gallery was a favorite place of resort, for while he 
had but little knowledge of art, he had a natural love 
for it. After spending the mornings in this way, he 
enjoyed nothing so much in the evenings as to stay 
quietly at home and have me read to him. This sum- 
mer was devoted to Shakespeare, and he was a most 
attentive and appreciative listener. Whenever a pasr 
sage struck him, he would say, " Mark that," and 
many were the interruptions of this kind. The even- 
ings were sometimes varied by attending a con- 
cert. 

The opening of the fall term of the Military Insti- 
tute always found him at his post, and our return 
home was a joyful time both to us and our domestics. 



1]4. LIFE OF GENERAL TUOIIAS J. JACKSO.V. 

As these servants will frequently be mentioned in 
his letters, a short account of them may not be un- 
interesting. The first slave he ever owned was a man 
named Albert, who came to him and begged that he 
would buy him on the condition that he might be per- 
mitted to emancipate himself by a return of the pur- 
chase-money, as he would be able to pay it in annual 
instalments. Major Jackson granted his request, al- 
though he had to wait several years before tlie debt 
could be paid, and my impression is that it was not 
fully paid when the war broke out. This man, Al- 
bert, hired himself as a hotel-waiter, and was never 
an inmate of our family, except on one occasion, when 
he had a long spell of illness, and his master took him 
to his home to care for liim as an act of humanity, for 
Albert hail no family of his own. Every morning my 
husband paid him a call to see how he was getting 
along and what he needed ; and one morning, as he 
came in from one of these visits, his face was so con- 
vulsed with laugliter that he had to drop into a seat 
and give full vent to the explosion before he was able 
to explain tiie cause of it. Albert had been committed 
to the ministrations of our two maid -servants, with 
the expectation that he would be well cared for by 
these colored sisters ; but probably he was not grate- 
ful enough for their services, or their tender mercies 
towards him may have grown cruel. At all events, 
he complained of their neglect and ill-treatment, which 
he summed up by saying that he "had nt-cer hcen so 
bedevilled by two icomen in his life!" It was tiiis 
disgusted and dolorous recital of his woes that had 
amused the major so intensely. 

The next servant that came into his possession was 



HIS SERVANTS.— DEATH OF "AUNT AMY." H5 

an old woman, Amy, who was about to be sold for 
debt, and who sought from him a deliverance from 
her troubles. This was some time before our marriage, 
when he had no use for her services ; but his kind 
heart was moved by her situation, and he yielded to 
her entreaties, and gave her a home in a good. Chris- 
tian family, until he had one of his own. She proved 
her gratitude by serving him faithfully. She was one 
of the best of colored cooks, and was a real treasure 
to me in my new experience as a housekeeper. After 
our home was broken up by the war, old Aunt Amy 
languished and died in the house of a colored woman 
in Lexington, her master paying all iier expenses of 
board, medical attendance, and comforts. She was 
not suffered to want for anything, a kind friend then 
looking after her, at his request, and providing for her 
suitable burial. 

Hardly had this poor old servant breathed her last 
when the friend who had been engaged to care for 
her wrote to General Jackson to inform him of her 
death. And though he was then in the field, with 
other things to think of, he said the reading of it 
" moved him to tears." In it the friend writes : 

..." I could have wished that your letter had 
come a few hours earher, that poor Aunt Amy's 
heart might have been refreshed by the evidences of 
your Christian remembrance and kindness. Before it 
reached me, she had passed beyond the need of earth- 
Iv aid or sympathy, and I do trust was an adoring, 
wondering spirit before the Throne. She died last 
night at midnight without any fsar, and, as I believe, 
with a simple reliance on Jesus for salvation. It was 



116 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO>f. 

only the death of a poor slave— a most insignificant 
thing in men's eyes — and yet may we not hope that 
there Avas joy in heaven over another ransomed soul 
— one in whom the Saviour saw the result of ' his 
travail ' and was ' satisfied.' ... I called to see her 
a few minutes last Friday — found her sitting up, 
though suffering much. She told me that she wanted 
to thank you for that money, and to let you know 
about her. She expressed entire resignation to God's 
will, and trust in Christ alone. ... I knew that it 
would be your wish that she should liave a well-(,rdered 
burial, so Dr. White attended, and my servants tell uie 
that it is many a day since so large a colored funeral 
has been seen in Lexington. It may seem very need- . 
less to write so minutely about a poor old servant, but 
I am sure your true Christian feeling will appreciate 
all that I have told you of the humble faith of this 
saved soul, gathered from your own household. The 
cup of cold water you have ministered to this poor 
disciple may avail more in the Master's eye than all 
the brilliant deeds with which you may glorify your 
countr3''s battle-fields. So differently do man and his 
Maker judge !" 

Hetty, our chambermaid. and laundress, was an im- 
portation from North Carolina. She had been my 
nurse in infancy, and from this fact there had always 
existed between us a bond of mutual interest and at- 
tachment. As she wished to live with me, my father 
transferred to me the ownership of herself and her two 
boys. Hetty was sent as a nurse to our first child, 
from her plantation-home in North Carolina to Lex- 
ington, and made the journey all alone, which was 



HETTY AND HER BOYS. 117 

quite a feat for one so inexperienced as a •• corn field 
hand," in which capacity she had served for years. 
After travelling by stage-coach and railroad as far as 
Richmond (altiiough she did not go down into South 
Carolina, around Eobin Hood's Barn, and back again 
into North Carolina, as my sister Eugenia and I had 
done), she had to change cars, and being sorely be- 
wildered m finding her train, she was asked where 
she was going, and her discouraged reply was : " Why, 
I'm going to Virginia, but the Lord knows whether 
I'll ever get there or not !" She did, however, turn 
up all right at the end of her destination, and was so 
rejoiced at finding her young mistress at last that her 
demonstrations were quite touching, as she laughed 
and cried by turns. 

That she was fully equal to taking care of herself 
is instanced by the following : On her return to North 
Carolina during the war, she was again travelling alone, 
and while changing trains she saw a man pick up her 
little, old hair trunk — her own personal property, con- 
taining all her valuables — and suspecting his honesty, 
with a determination to stand up for her rights, she 
called out to him peremptorily : " I\it dmon that 
trunk ; that's General Jachson's t runic P'' 

Hetty was an energetic, impulsive, quick-tempered 
woman, with some fine traits, but inclined to self- 
assertion, particularly as she felt her importance in 
being so much tlie senior of her new master and mis- 
tress. But she soon realized, from the spirit which 
" commanded his household after him," that her only 
course must be that of implicit obedience. After learn- 
ing this lesson she toned down into a well-mannered, 
useful domestic, and indeed she became a factotum in 



118 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

the household, rendering valuable service in the house, 
garden, and upon the farm. The latter, however, was 
her favorite field of labor, for the freedom of the 
country was as sweet to her as to the birds of the air. 
She became devoted to her master, was the nurse to 
his infant child at the time of his death, and was a 
sincere mourner for hira, her tears flowing freely; 
and she said she had lost her best friend. 

Hetty's two boys, Cyrus (called Cy) and George, be- 
tween the ages of twelve and sixteen, were pure, una- 
dulterated Africans, and ilajor Jackson used to say 
that if these boys were left to themselves they would 
be sure to go back to barbarism ; and yet he was un- 
wearying in his efforts to elevate them. At his re- 
quest I taught them to read, and he required them to 
attend regularly family worship, Sunday-school, and 
church. He was a very strict but kind master, giv- 
ing to his servants " that which is just and equal,"' but 
exacting of them prompt obedience. He thought the 
best rule for both parents and masters was, after mak- 
ing prohibitory laws and knowing they were under- 
stood, never to threaten, but punish, for first offences, 
and make such an impression that the offence would 
not be repeated. 

When a servant left a room without closing the 
door, he would wait until he had reached the kitchen, 
and then call him back to shut it, thereby giving him 
extra trouble, which generally insured his remembrance 
the next time. His training made the colored servants 
as polite and pvinctual as that race is capable of being, 
and his system soon showed its good effects. They 
realized that if they did their duty they would receive 
the best of treatment from liim. At Christmas he was 



LITTLE EMMA. 119 

generous in presents, and frequently gave them small 
sums of money. 

There was one other little servant in the family, 
named Emma, whom tlie master took under his shel- 
tering roof at the solicitation of an aged lady in town, 
to whom the child became a care after having been 
left an orphan. The arrangement was made during 
my absence from home, and without my knowledge, 
my husband thinking that, although Emma was of the 
tender age of only four years, she would make a nice 
little maid for me in the future. On my return he 
took great pleasure in surprising me with this new 
present, which, by the way, proved rather a trouble- 
some one at first, but with the lapse of time she be- 
came useful, though never a treasure. She was not 
bright, but he persevered in drilling her into memor- 
izing a child's catechism, and it was a most amusing 
picture to see her standing before him with fixed at- 
tention, as if she were straining every nerve, and recit- 
ing her answers with the drop of a courtesy at each 
word. She had not been taught to do this, but it was 
such an effort for her to learn that she assumed this 
motion involuntarily. 

The other animate possessions of the family were a 
good-looking horse (named, from his color. Bay), two 
splendid milch cows, and a lot of chickens. Bay was 
also bought during my absence, and after coming to 
meet me at Goshen with a horse and buggy, on our 
homeward ride I commented on the nice appearance 
of the horse, when my husband smilingly replied : " I 
am very thankful that you like him, for he is your 
own propert3^" He had a playful way of applying 
the pronoun your to all the common possessions of the 



120 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

family, and so persistently did he practise this pleas- 
antry that he applied it to himself and all his indi- 
vidual belongings, of which he always spoke to me as 
" your husband," " your cap," " 3'our house," and even 
" your salary !" Upon the occasion of a visit from ray 
mother to us, he went out and, unexpectedly to me, 
bought a rockaway, saying she was not strong enough 
to walk all over town, and he wanted her to see and 
enjoy everything while she was with us. 

A little incident will show the kindness and tender- 
ness of his heart. A gentleman who spent the night 
with us was accompanied by his daughter, but four 
years of asre. It was the first time the child had been 
separated from her mother, and my husband, fearing 
she might miss the watchfulness of a woman's heart, 
suggested that she should be committed to my care 
during the nigiit, but she clung to her father. After 
his guests had both sunk into slumber, the father was 
aroused by some one leaning over his little girl and 
drawing the covering more closely around her. It 
w^as only his thoughtful host, who felt anxious lest his 
little guest should miss her mother's guardian care un- 
der his roof, and he could not go to sleep himself until 
he was satisfied that all was well with the child. 

In his home no man could have been more unre- 
strained and demonstrative, and his buoyancy and 
sportiveness were quite a revelation to me when I 
became a sharer in the privacy of his inmost life. 
These demonstrations and playful endearments he 
kept up as long as he lived ; time seeming only to 
intensify instead of diminishing them. 

One morning he returned from a very early artil- 
lery drill, for which he had donned full regimentals, 



HIS ABANDON' IN HIS OWN HOME. 121 

as it was during cominencenient time, and he never 
looked more noble and handsome than when he en- 
tered his chamber, sword in hand. He playfully be- 
gan to brandish the sword over his wife's head, look- 
ing as ferocious and terrible as a veritable Bluebeard, 
and asking her if she was not afraid. His acting 
was so realistic that, for a moment, the timid httle 
woman did quail, which he no sooner saw than he 
threw down his sword, and, in a perfect outburst of 
glee, speedily transformed himself into the very an- 
tipode of a wife-killer. 

He would often hide himself behind a door at the 
sound of the approaching footstep of his wife, and 
spring out to greet her with a startling caress. 

During the spring of 1859 I was not well, and as he 
always wished me to have the best medical attention 
the country afforded, he took me to New York for 
treatment, where I was obliged to remain several weeks. 
As it was the time of his session, he could not stay with 
me, so he had to return to his duties and spend all 
those weeks by himself. It was our first separation, 
and our home seemed very lonely to him. Every day 
that a letter could make the trip without travelling on 
Sunday he was heard from, and I hope that I do not 
trespass in delicacy or propriety in permitting others 
to see so much of these letters as will show the abound- 
ing sweetness of his home-life. On his return, after 
leaving me in New York, in March, 1859, he writes : 

" I got home last night in as good health as when I 
gave my darling the last kiss. Hetty and Amy came 
to the door when I rang, but would not open until I 
gave my name. They made much ado about my not 



122 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V. 

bringing you home. Your husband has a sad heart. 
Our house looks so deserted without my e.9j)osa.* 
Home is not home without my httle dove. 1 love 
to talk to you, little one, as though you were here, 
and tell you how much I love you, but that will not 
give you the news. . . . During our absence the ser- 
vants appear to have been faithful, and I am well 
pleased with the manner in which they discharged 
their duties. George came to me to-day, saying he 
had filled all the wood-boxes, and asked permission 
to go lishing, which was granted. . . . You must be 
cheerful and happy, remembering that you are some- 
body's sunshine." 

" April 27th. All your fruit-trees are yielding fruit 
this yeai". AVhen George brought home your cow this 
morning, she was accompanied by one fine little rep- 
resentative of his sire, and it would do your heart good 
to see your big cow and your little calf, and to see 
what a fine prospect there is for an abundant supply 
of milk. . . . We had lettuce for dinner to-day from 
your hot-bed. Heretofore I have been behind Cap- 
tain Hayden's calendar for gardening, which he wrote 
out for me; but this day brings me up with it, and I 
hope hereafter to follow it closely. I have arranged 
under each month its programme for the different days, 
so I have but to look at the days of the month, and 
follow its directions as they come." . . . 

* When in Mexico, he had become so familiar with the Spanish 
language that he was constantly nsing Spanish words and phrases, 
especially the terms of endearment, whicli are so musical. Thus, 
his wife was always his esposa, or, if he wished to use the dimin- 
utive, his esposita (liis little wife), while he was her esposo — pet 
names that recur constantly in his letters. 



LETTERS TO HIS WIFE. 123 

" May 7th. I received only three letters last week, 
and have only one so far this week, but ' hope springs 
eternal in the human breast ;' so you see I am becoming 
quite poetical since listening to a lecture on the subject 
last evening. . . . I send you a flower from your garden, 
and could have sent one in full bloom, but I thought 
this one, which is just opening, would be in a better 
state of preservation when ray little dove receives it. 
You must not give yourself any concern about your 
e.<tposo's living. . . . My little pet. your husband was 
made very happy at receiving two letters from you and 
learning that you were improving so rapidly. 1 have 
more than once bowed down on my knees, and thanked 
our kind and merciful Heavenly Father for the pros- 
pect of restoring you to health again. Now, don't 
get impatient, and come off before you are entirely 
well. . . . Yesterday Doctor Junkin preached one of 
his masterly sermons on the sovereignty of God, and, 
although a doctrinal discourse, it was eminently con- 
soling ; and I wish that you could have heard such a 
presentation of the subject. To-day I rode your horse 
out to your lot and saw your laborers. They are do- 
ing good work. I was mistaken about your large gar- 
den fruit being peaches, they turn out to be apricots; 
and just think — ray little woman has a tree full of 
them ! You must come home before the}'^ get ripe. 
You have the greatest show of flowers I have seen 
this year. Enclosed are a few specimens. Our pota- 
toes are coming up. We have had very uncommonly 
dry weather for nearly a fortnight, and your garden 
had been thirsting for rain till last evening, when the 
weather commenced changing, and to-day we have 
had some rain. Through grace given me from above, 



124 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V. 

I felt that the rain would come at the right time, and 
I don't recollect having ever felt so grateful for rain 
as for the present one. . . . You must not be dis- 
couraged at the slowness of recovery. Look up to 
Him who giveth liberall}' for faith to be resigned to 
His divine will, and trust Him for that measure of 
health which will most glorify Him and advance to 
the greatest extent your own real happiness. We are 
sometimes suffered to be in a state of perplexity, that 
our faith may be tried and grow stronger. 'All 
things work together for good ' to God's children. See 
if you cannot spend a short time after dark in looking 
out of your window into space, and meditating upon 
heaven, with all its joys unspeakable and full of glory; 
and think of what the Saviour relinquished in glory 
when he came to earth, and of his sufferings for us ; 
and seek to realize, with the a{X)stle, that the afflictions 
of the present life are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Tr}' to 
look up and be cheerful, and not desponding. Trust 
our kind Heavenly Father, and by the eye of faith 
see that all things with you are right and for your 
best interest. The clouds come, pass over us, and are 
followed by bright sunshine ; so, in God's moral deal- 
ings with us, he permits us to have trouble awhile. 
But let us, even in the most trying dispensations of 
His providence, be cheered by the brightness which 
is a little ahead. Try to live near to Jesus, and secure 
that peace which flows like a river. You have your 
husband's prayers, sympathy, and love. . . . 

'• I am so glad and thankful that you received the 
draft and letters in time. How kind is God to His 
children ! I feel so thankful to Him that He has blessed 



LETTERS TO HIS WIFE. 125 

me with so much faith, though I well know that I 
have not that faith which it is my privilege to have. 
But I have been taught never to despair, but to wait, 
expecting the blessing at the last moment. Such oc- 
currences should strengthen our faith in Plira who 
never slumbers. ... I trust that our Heavenly 
Father is restoring my darling to health, and that 
when she gets home she will again be its sunshine. 
Your husband is looking forward with great joy to 
seeing her bright little face in her own home once 
more. If you should be detained longer, I will send 
you some summer clothing, but get everything that 
is necessary there. I sent you a check in order that 
you may have ample funds. I know how embarrass- 
ing it is even to anticipate scarcity of money when 
one is away from home. You are one darling of dar- 
lings, and may our kind and merciful Heavenly Father 
bless you with speedy restoration to health and to 
me, and with every needful blessing, both temporal 
and spiritual, is ray oft-repeated prayer. Take good 
care of my little dove, and remember that the day of 
miracles is past, and that God works by means, and 
He punishes us for violating his physical as well as 
His moral laws. When you come home, I want to 
meet you at Goshen in a private conveyance, and bring 
my little one gently over the rough roads. I hope 
you will take my advice, and not burden yourself by 
carrying anything in your hands, except your um- 
brella and basket. You are very precious to one 
somebody's heart, if you are away off in New York. 
My heart is with my espoaiia all the time, and my 
prayers are for her safety. How I wish you were here 
now to share with me the pleasures of home, our garden. 



12G LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J JACKSON. 

and the surrounding country, which is clothed in verd- 
ure and heauty ! . . . On Wednesday your esposo hopes 
to meet his sunshine, and may he never pee its bright- 
ness obscured, nor its brilliancy diminished by spots !" 

The reader will see how freely he useJ the Span- 
ish pet names. In some of his letters he would string 
together a dozen or more of them — the "linked 
sweetness long drawn out " — at once in playfulness 
and as the overflow of a heart full of tenderness. 
But this sportiveness and buoyancy of temperament 
were known only in the innermost circle of his home, 
and from these sanctities the veil would never have 
been lifted except to reveal this beautiful phase of 
his character. 

In the summer of the year 1859, he went to the 
White Sulphur Springs for a fortnight, leaving me 
to spend the time at the Eockbridge Baths. The 
railroad not being completed at that time, he thought 
the travel by stage-coach would be too fatiguing to 
me, but he felt that he needed the mineral waters of 
the White Sulphur. From there he wrote : " This is 
a very beautiful place, and I wish very nmcli thiit I 
had my dove here. I feel that I must bring her here 
sometime. She would enjoy it greatly, and I should 
enjoy it so mucli more if slie were with me. To- 
morrow, you know, was my day to write, but I 
thought I would drop you a line to-day, so that you 
might know the whereabouts of your husband. . . . 
I am tired of this place, and wouldn't give my little 
pet for all the people here. I want to go and stay 
with my little woman. As yet I am not certain 
whether the waters are beneficial to me." . . . 



A SERMON OF DR. THORNWELL. 127 

" August 15th. Last night I enjoyed what I have 
long desired — hstening to a sermon from the Eev. Dr. 
Thorn well, of South Carolina. He opened with an 
introduction, setting forth the encouragements and 
discouragements under which he spoke. Among the 
encouragements, he stated that the good effected here 
would be widely disseminated, as there were visitors 
from every Southern State. Following the example 
of the apostle Paul, he observed that whilst he felt 
an interest in all, yet he felt a special interest in those 
from his own State. He spoke of the educated and 
accomplished audience it was his privilege to address. 
After concluding his introductory remarks, he took 
his text from Genesis, seventeenth chapter, seventh 
verse, which he presented in a bold, pi'ofound, and to 
me original manner. I felt what a privilege it was 
to listen to such an exi)osition of God's truth. He 
showed that in Adam's fall we had been raised from 
the position of servants to that of children of God. 
He gave a brief account of his own difficulties when 
a college student, in comprehending his relation to 
God. He represented man as a redeemed being at 
the day of judgment, standing nearest to the throne, 
the angels being farther removed. And why? Be- 
cause his Brothel' is sitting upon the throne he is a 
nearer relation to Christ than the angels. And his 
righteousness is superior to that of the angels — his 
being: the righteousness of God himself. I don't rec- 
oUect having ever before felt such love to God. I 
was rather surprised at seeing so much grace and 
gesture in Dr. Thorn well. I hope and pra}^ that 
much good will result from this great exposition of 
Bible truth. . . . Early yesterday morning the tables in 



128 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the parlor were well supplied with religious tracts. . . . 
Time passes more pleasantly here than I expected, 
but I want to get back to my esjaosita, and I nevei 
want to go to any watering-place without her again." 

In the succeeding autumn I paid a short visit to 
mv father in Xorth Carolina, and the followiner ex- 
tracts are from his letters during that period ; 

..." I am writing at my desk, which I have raised 
so high that it makes me stand straight. I watered 
your flowers this morning, and hoed another row of 
turnips, and expect to hill some of the celery this 
evening. Your old man at home is taking good care 
of one somebody's flower-slips, and they are looking 
very niceh\ Yesterday I went into the kitchen and 
sealed some jars of tomatoes, and Hetty has put up 
man}' jars besides, of ])lums and other fruits, so that 
we shall be well supjilied this winter. I hope they 
will keep well. ... I was invited a few days since to 

go to the Misses B 's and see some pagan idols 

which they had received. They were mostly paint- 
ings and some other devices, but quite interesting. 
Among the various Chinese curiosities (for they do 
not aU refer to worship) was an image consisting of 
a man in miniature in a sitting posture, with long 
ringlets of hair hanging from various parts of the 
face. The statue can be removed from the chair in 
which it sits, and is the best-finished piece of work- 
manship of the kind that I ever saw from a pagan 
land. It was taken from one of the churches in 
Canton after its capture, and is said to have beec 
worshipped. 



THE JOHX BROWN RAID. 129 

"I hope that my little somebody is feeling as 
lively as a lark ;" and in another letter he tells her 
that he wants her to be "as happy as a spring 
butterfly." 

"October 17th. I have been wishing that you 
could see our beautiful forests in their autumnal glory. 
I have been greatly enjoying their beauty, but my 
pleasure would be much enhanced if you were with 
me. I have just been thinking how happy you must 
be in your old home, and it makes niy heart happy 
too to think of the happiness of my little darling." 

" October 29th. This morning I buried ninety-nine 
heads of your cabbage for winter use." 

It was in the fall of 1S59 that the celebrated John 
Brown raid was made upon tbe government stoi-es at 
Harper's Ferry. Brown was a fanatic, who conceived 
the idea that he could raise an insurrection in the 
South and emancipate the negroes. But he was ar- 
rested, convicted, and condemned to execution. Fear- 
ing that an attempt might be made to rescue bim, the 
Governor of A^irginia, Henry A. Wise, ordered out the 
troops, in which were included the corps of cadets of 
the Virginia Military Institute, and with their officers 
at their head they marched to the place of rendezvous. 
The following exti'acts from Major Jackson's letters 
will tell the part he had to take in the affair : 

" Charlestown, Nov. 28tli, 1859. 
"I reached here last niglit in orood health and 
spirits. Seven of us slept in the same room. I am 
9 



130 LIFE OF GEXERAL TUUMAS J. JACKSON. 

much more pleased than I expected to be ; the people 
appear to be very kiad. There are about one thou- 
sand troops here, and everything is quiet so far. We 
don't expect any trouble. The excitement is confined 
to more distant points. Do not give yourself any con- 
cern about me. I am comfortable, for a temporary 
military post." 

" December 2d. John Brown was hung to-day at 
about half-past eleven a. m. He behaved witii un- 
flinching firmness. The arrangements were well 
made and well executed under the tlirection of Colonel 
Smith. The gibbet was erected in a large field, south- 
east of the town. Brown rode on the head of his 
coffin from his prison to tlie place of execution. The 
coffin was of black walnut, enclosed in a box of poplar 
of the same shape as the coffin. He was dressed in 
a black frock-coat, black ]iantaloons, black vest, black 
slouch hat, white socks, and slippers of predominat- 
ing red. There was nothing around his neck but iiis 
shirt collar. The open wagon in which he rode was 
strongly guarded on all sides. Captain Williams (for- 
merly assistant professor at the Institute) marciied 
imniediatel}'^ in front of the wagon. The jailer, high- 
sheriff, and several others rode in the same wagon 
with the prisoner. Brown had his arms tied behind 
him, and ascended the scaffoUl with apparent ciieer- 
fulness. After reaching the top of the platform, lie 
shook hands with several who were standing around 
him. The sheriff placed the rope around his neck, 
then threw a white cap over his head, and asked him 
if he wished a signal when all should l)e ready. He 
replied that it made no difference, provided he was not 



EXECUTION OF JOHN BROWN. 131 

kept waiting too long. In this condition he stood for 
about ten minutes on the trap-door, which was support- 
ed on one side by hinges and on the other (the south 
side) by a rope. Colonel Smith then announced to the 
sheriff ' all ready ' — which apparently was not com- 
prehended b\' him, and the colonel had to repeat the 
order, when the rope was cut by a single blow, and 
Brown fell through about five inches, his knees falling 
on a level with the position occupied by his feet before 
the rope was cut. With the fall his arms, below the 
elbows, flew up horizontally, his hands clinched ; and 
his arms gradually fell, but by spasmodic motions. 
There was very little motion of his person for several 
moments, and soon the wind blew his lifeless body to 
and fro. His face, upon the scafl'old, was turned a 
little east of south, and in front of him were the 
cadets, commanded by Major Giihaiu. My command 
was still in front of the cadets, all facing south. One 
howitzer I assigned to Mr. Trueheart on the left of 
the cadets, and with the otlier I remained on the 
right. Other troops occupied different positions around 
the scaffold, and altogether it was an imposing but 
very solemn scene. I was much impressed with the 
thought that before me stood a man in the full vigor 
of health, who must in a few moments enter eternity. 
I sent up the petition that he might be saved. Awful 
was the thought that he might in a few minutes 
receive the sentence, ' Depart, ye wicked, into ever- 
lasting fire !' I hope that he was prepared to die, but 
I am doubtful. He refused to have a minister with 
him. His wife visited him last evening. His body 
was taken back to the jail, and at six o'clock p. m. 
was sent to his wife at Harper's Ferry. When it 



132 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

arrived, the coffin was opened, and his wife saw the 
remains, after which it was again opened at the depot 
before leaving for Baltimore, lest there should be an 
imposition. We leave for home via Eichmond to- 
morrow." 

This was the onlj' expedition after our marriage in 
which he accompanied the cadets, until he took them 
to Eiclimond at the opening of the war, in obedience 
to the call of the governor. Several trips were made 
by the corps to the capital and to Korfolk, to grace 
state occasions ; but at such times he always requested 
that he might be permitted to have his holiday at 
home, while he lent his sword, epaulets, and sashes 
to his brotlier-officers, who were more fond of display. 

The next letter is to his aunt, Mrs. Neale, of Parkers- 
burg : 

"Lexington, Va., Jan. 21st, 1860. 

"I am living in my own house, I am thankful to 
say, as, after trying both public and private boarding, 
I have learned from experience that true comfort is 
only to be found in a house under your own control. 
I wish you could pay rae a visit during some of your 
leisure intervals, if you ever have such. This is a 
beautiful country, just on the confines of tlie Virginia 
Springs, and we are about fourteen miles from the 
Natural Bridge. . . . What do you think about the 
state of the country? Viewing things at Washington 
from human appearances, I think we liave great reason 
for alarm, but my trust is in God ; and I cannot think 
that he will permit the madness of men to interfere 
so materially with the Christian labors of this country 
at home and abroad." 



CHAPTER IX. 

W^R CLOUDS— 1860-1861. - 

Major Jackson's vacation in the summer of 1860 
was spent in New England — at Northampton, Massa- 
chusetts. This was once the home of Jonathan Ed- 
wards, and a large old elra-tree which was planted 
by him is still standing as a memorial of the great 
American theologian. In the old burying-ground, a 
time-worn, moss-covered tombstone bears the name 
of the saintly David Brainerd. On Eound Hill is a 
hydropathic establishment, which attracted Major 
Jackson there. The hotel is built upon an elevation 
overlooking the town — the Connecticut River winding 
through the loveliest of emerald valleys, with fine 
mountain scenery, embracing Mount Tom and Mount 
Holyoke — all together forming a landscape which 
Jenny Lind thought one of the most beautiful she 
had seen in America. 

The climate also is bracing and delightful, and there 
was much to contribute to our enjoj^ment, notwith- 
standing the inhospitable elements which Southerners 
felt in the North at that time of great political ex- 
citement. As it was the summer before Mr. Lincoln's 
election, Major Jackson heard and saw enough to 
awaken his fears that it might ]iortend civil war ; but 
he had no dispute with those who differed from him, 
treating all politely, and made some pleasant acquaint- 



134 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ances, among tbem a Baptist minister, who often 
joined us in our walks, when the conversations were 
always friendly. To our surprise, one day the wife 
of a gentleman from South Carolina reported that 
her husband had had a violent political dispute with 
this same minister, whom we had found so courteous. 
Although he was an abolitionist, and Major Jackson 
was a slave-holder, each had recognized in the other 
enough to be a bond of union, and their pleasant re- 
lations continued as long as they remained together. 

In front of the hotel was a large grove of forest 
trees, under which were seats hei-e and there, and 
we literally lived out of doors. In strolhng through 
this grove we came upon a reservoir, which we ex- 
pected to see filled with water, but to our surprise it 
was dry, and upon the floor were gambolling a large 
number of tame rabbits, white, brown, and spotted, 
and guinea-pigs of all sizes and ages — a sight that 
was quite an attraction to the guests of the hotel. 
The little animals were the pets of the children of the 
proprietor, and the old reservoir, having been aban- 
doned for a much larger one, made a secure and ex- 
cellent home for the pretty creatures. In these peace- 
ful surroundings Major Jackson's health improved 
wonderfully ; the baths with the exercise gave in- 
creased fulness as well as vigor to his manly frame. 
I too was greatly benefited by this novel ti-eatment. 
I had gone there without a particle of faith in 
hydropathy, but as I was not strong, my husband 
persuaded me to try it, and it was astonishing how 
rapidly my strength developed. From not being able 
to walk a mile upon my arrival, by degrees I came 
to walking five miles a day with ease, and kept it up 



LETTERS FROM HOME. I35 

until my departure. Indeed, I proved such an en- 
couraging subject to the skill of the doctor that at 
his suggestion, but sorely against my own will, I was 
left behind for a month after my husband had to re- 
turn to his professorial duties. But he " reported " 
to me as regularly as if I were his superior officer, 
though not exactly in military style, but after his do- 
mestic fashion : 

" Little one, I must tell you what is in your gar- 
den. First and foremost, there is a very long row of 
celery : this is due to Hetty, and I told her that as 
she had succeeded so well I wouldn't touch its cult- 
ure ; though when it comes upon the table, and ray 
little pet is here to enjoy it with me, I do not expect 
to be so chary of it. You have also Lima beans, snap 
beans, carrots, parenips, salsify, onions, cabbage, tur- 
nips, beets, potatoes, and some inferior muskmelons. 
Now, do you think you have enough vegetables ? I 
am just thinking and thinking about that little some- 
body away up there." 

"When the time arrived for me to return, he would 
have come for me, but he was so conscientious about 
his duty that he would not leave his chair even for a 
single day, except in case of absolute necessity, and so 
he writes : 

« September 3.5th, 1860. 

" In answer to your question how you are to come, 
I should say, with your husband, if no other arrange- 
ment can be effected. If you don't meet with an 
opportunity of an escort to New York or farther, see 
if the doctor can't get you one to Sjjringfield, upon 



136 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V, 

the condition that you pay the expense. I don't 
want you to pass through Springfield alone, as you 
have to change cars there, and you might meet with 
some accident ; but as visitors invite the doctor to 
make excursions with them, can't you invite him to 
make one with you to Springfield, and after he sees 
you on the right train, sit in the same car until you 
reach the depot in New York, where you may expect 
to find your esjJoso waiting for you ? Be sure to write, 
and also telegraph, as I would rather go all the way 
to Round Hill than for you to come through Spring- 
field alone. Your husband feels bright, and the light 
of his approaching little sunshine makes him still 
brighter. Whenever you write or telegraph for him, 
you may expect him to come for you in double-quick 
time." 

Having arranged for my escort to a place within 
driving distance of Lexington, he sends a last mes- 
sage: 

" September 28th. I expect to set off with your 
rockaway and " Bay," and you must not be left behind. 
You may expect to have your dinner sent from home, 
so that in our homeward drive you can eat your own 
dinner." 

In February, 1861, I left him again for a brief 
period, to attend the wedding of my sister Susan, who 
married Mr. A. C. Avery, afterwards a Justice of the 
Supreme Court of North Carolina. A few extracts 
will show the character of the letters that followed 
me on this trip : 



LETTERS FROM HOME. 137 

" Home, February 18th, 1861. My precious little 
darling, your husband has returned from the Insti- 
tute, had his dinner all alone, and feels sad enough 
this afternoon ; but I trust that my little pet has had 
a pleasant day's travel, and that the kind providence 
of God has kept her from all accident and danger, 
and has spread out before her many enjoyments. I 
hope that you will be greatly prospered during all 
your absence. The day here has been very change- 
able, alternating between sunshine and snow. I hope 
the Eichjnond weather is better, for I have been 
thinking you might be too much exposed in shopping. 
However, I hope you have taken a carriage, if neces- 
sary, and have taken good care of my little one." 

..." 19th. My darling pet, your husband feels a 
loneliness for which he can hardly account, but he 
knows if his darling were here he wouldn't feel thus. 
I have been busy, but still the feeling exists. I fol- 
low you in mind and heart, and think of you at the 
different points of your route." 

" 23d. I was vei'y thankful to our kind Heavenly 
Father for his protecting care extended over my little 
pet, as stated in your letter. I do delight to receive 
letters from my little woman. If Sue is approach- 
able on the Avery question, tell her she must be verj'' 
litigious if she finds it necessary to engage the ser- 
vices of a member of the legal profession for life I 
Tell lier we have them here from a mere tyro up to a 
judge of the Federal court, though do not mention the 
subject to her if you think it would be at all unpleasant. 
" On Saturday I sent your boy, George, with 



138 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

your horse and wagon down to Thompson's landing, 
and brought up a barrel of nice Richmond sweet pota- 
toes. I have laid aside the best, and hope they will 
keep till my little pet gets home. 

" "What think you ? I went down to your hen- 
house yesterday evening, pursuant to orders, and, look- 
ing into the nests, found nine fresh eggs besides the 
Deaver [a porcelain egg bought of a man of that 
name], and, appropriating eight of them, I returned, 
leaving one in each nest." 

" Feb. 27th. This is a beautiful daj^ here, and I have 
been thinking how blissful Sue's married life will be 
if her bridal day is its true emblem. . . . We had 
quite a treat last night in the performance of a com- 
pany in Druidical costumes, making exquisite music 
upon instruments constructed of ox-horns, copied from 
the Druidical instruments in the British Museum." 

" March 16th. Amy has gone to grace the wedding 
of one of her colored friends by her imposing presence. 

George left for C 's on the morning of March 1st, 

and I haven't seen bis delectable face since. I am 
thankful to say that everything is working well at 
home. I expect to continue sending you letters as 
long as you stay away. You had better come home if 
you want to stop this correspondence. I have been 
working to-day at your garden fence to keep your 
chickens out, and also to prevent egress and ingress 
between our gai'den and that of Sefior Deaver. 

"Your peas are just beginning to make their appear- 
ance above ground. . . . The colored Sabbath-school 
is greatly blessed in numbers and teachers, and is do- 



SOUTHERN FEELING FOR SECESSION. I39 

ing a good work. . . . Your friends here remember 
my darling with much interest." 

During this visit of mine to North Carolina, I was 
surprised to find the people of that State almost unani- 
mous for secession, for in my Virginia home the feel- 
ing was very much the reverse. After the election 
of Mr. Lincoln, South Carolina had boldly led off 
in withdrawing from the Union, and was followed 
by one after another of her sister States in solemn 
procession — including Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Afterwards all the 
Southern States, except Kentucky, which remained 
neutral, followed suit ; and on the 9th of February, 
1801, the first seven States formed a Confederacy, and 
established a provisional government at Montgomery, 
Alabama. Jeffei-son Davis was chosen President, and 
Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President. 

At this time Major Jackson was strongly for the 
Union, but at the same time he was a firm States'- 
rights man. In politics he had always been a Dem- 
ocrat, but he was never a very strong partisan, and 
took no part in the political contest of 1860, except 
to cast his vote for John C. Breckinridge, believing 
that his election Avould do more to save the Union 
than that of any other candidate. He never was a 
secessionist, and maintained that it Avas better for the 
South to fight for her rights im the Union tham, out of 
it. The grand old State of Virginia, whose sons had 
done more than those of any other State to form the 
Constitution which drew all the States under one gen- 
eral government, was reluctant to withdraw from it, 
and was among the last of the Southern States to 



140 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

secede. South Carolina, after her secession, urgently 
solicited the Federal government for an equitable 
settlement of the rights she claimed as a State, and 
especially demanded the possession of Fort Sumter as 
her only fort for her local protection. In reply to 
this the governor of the State was informed by the 
United States government that the garrison of the 
fort would be reinforced — " peaceably if they could, 
forcibly if they must." This was regarded by the 
spirited secessionists as a call to arms, and they im- 
mediately bombarded Fort Sumter, which in a short 
time was reduced to ruins. President Lincoln then 
issued a proclamation, calling upon the States to fur- 
nish seventy-five thousand men to put down what he 
assumed to be a " rebellion " against the only author- 
ized government of the country. 

Virginia now hesitated no longer. On the 17th of 
April she seceded, and immediately began prepara- 
tions for the struggle which was inevitable. After 
the threat of coercion on the part of the North, the 
South became almost a unit, and the enthusiasm with 
which men of all ages and classes rushed to arms was 
only equalled by that of the women at home. 

"With his high sense of duty and devotion to his 
State, Major Jackson had been deeply impressed by 
the startling course of events, which had developed in 
such rapid succession. Some weeks before Virginia 
cast in her lot with the Southern Confederacy, a 
Peace Conference had been held in "Washington to 
devise some terms of mutual concession. The Gen- 
eral Assembly of Virginia had proposed this effort at 
conciliation, and delegates were sent from both the 
Free and the Slave States, but all their attempts proved 



APPREHENSIONS OF WAR. 141 

vain. After the failure of this Peace Conference, 
Major Jackson called upon his pastor and expressed 
these views : " If the general government should per- 
sist in the measures now threatened, there must be 
war. It is painful to discover with what unconcern 
they speak of war, and threaten it. They do not 
know its horrors. I have seen enough of it to make 
me look upon it as the sum of all evils." (However it 
may surpi-ise those who knew him only as a soldier, 
yet it is true that I never heard any man express 
such utter abhorrence of war. I shall never forget 
how he once exclaimed to me, with all the intensity of 
his nature, " Oh, how I do deprecate war !") " Should 
the step be taken which is now threatened, we shall 
have no other alternative ; Ave must fight. But do 
you not think that all the Christian people of the 
land could be induced to unite in a concert of prayer 
to avert so great an evil ? It seems to me that if 
they would thus unite in prayer, war might be prevent- 
ed and peace preserved." His pastor fully concurred 
with him, and promised to do his utmost to bring 
about the concert of prayer he proposed. " Mean- 
time," said he, " let us agree thus to praj'." In his 
public prayers after this, his most fervent petition 
was that God would preserve the whole land from 
the evils of war. 

But while the storm was ffatherins: which was soon 
to burst with such fury, Jackson exhibited no undue 
anxiety — praying only the more importunately, if it 
were God's will, that it might be averted, and that the 
whole land might be at peace. 

In a conversation with a friend he described the 
demoralization of civil strife upon a nation, which has 



142 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

since seemed sadly prophetic of the very evils that 
have come upon the country. But his absolute trust 
in the Kuler of all things kept him from the agitation 
and fear which weighed so heavil}'^ upon others. At 
this time the Rev. Dr. J. B. Ramsey visited him and 
thus describes his frame of mind : 

" Walking with God in prayer and holy obedience, 
he reposed upon His promises and providence with a 
calm and unflinching reliance beyond any man 1 ever 
knew. I shall never forget the manner and tone of 
surprise and child-like confidence with which he once 
spoke to me on this subject. It was soon after the 
election in 186U, when the country was beginning to 
heave with the agony and throes of dissolution. We 
had just risen from morning prayers in his own house, 
where at that time I was a guest. Filled with gloom, 
I was lamenting in strong language the condition and 
prospects of our beloved country. ' Why,' said he, 
' should Christians be disturbed about the dissolution 
of the Union ? It can come only by God's permis- 
sion, and will only be permitted if for His people's 
good ; for does He not say, " All things work together 
for good to them that love God ?" I cannot see how 
we should be distressed about such things, whatever 
be their consequences.' That faith nothing could 
shake, because he dwelt in the secret place of the 
Most High, under the pavilion of the Almighty." 

It has been said that General Jackson "fought 
for slavery and the Southern Confederacy witli the 
unshaken conviction that both were to endure." 
This statement is true with regard to the latter, 
but I am very confident that he would never have 
fought for the sole object of perpetuating slavery. It 



NOT TO PERPETUATE SLAVERY. 143 

was for her constitutional rights that the South resist- 
ed the North, and slavery was only comprehended 
among those rights. He found the institution a re- 
sponsible and troublesome one, and I have heard him 
say that he would prefer to see the negroes free, but 
he believed that the Bible taught that slavery was 
sanctioned by the Creator himself, who maiieth men 
to differ, and instituted laws for the bond and the free. 
He therefore accepted slavery, as it existed in the 
Southern States, not as a thing desirable in itself, but 
as allowed by Providence for ends which it was not 
his business to determine. At the same time, the 
negroes had no truer friend, no greater benefactor. 
Those who were servants in his own house he treated 
with the greatest kindness, and never was more happ7 
or more devoted to any work than that of teaching 
the colored children in his Sunday-scliool. 

At the time that the clouds of war were about to 
burst over the land, the Presbytery of Lexington held 
its Spring meeting in the church which Major Jackson 
attended. These ecclesiastical gatherings, with their 
interesting religious services and preaching, and the 
pleasant hospitalities incident to them, were regarded 
in Virginia as seasons of special social and religious 
privilege and enjoyment. Major Jackson was enter- 
taining some of the members of this body, but owing 
to the intense political excitement in the town, and 
the constant demands made upon him in military mat- 
ters, he found but little time to give to his guests, and, 
still more to his disappointment, none to the services 
of the sanctuary. The cadets were wild Avith youth- 
ful ardor at the prospect of war, and the citizens were 
forming volunteer companies, drilling and equipping 



144 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

to enter the service. Major Jackson's practical ■wis- 
dom and energy were mucii sought after, and inspired 
hope and confidence. While the Presbytery was still 
in session, came the dreaded news from Kichmond 
that Virginia had seceded from the Unicm, and cast in 
her lot with the Southern Confederacy. This was the 
death-knell of the last hope of peace. 

The governor of the State, " honest John Letcher," 
as he was called, notified the superintendent of the 
Institute that he should need the services of the 
more advanced classes of the cadets as drill-masters, 
and they must be prepared to go to Eichmond at 
a moment's notice, under the command of Major 
Jackson. 

Having been almost entirely absorbed all the week 
with his military occupations, to the exclusion of liis 
attendance upon a single church service, which he had 
so much desired, he expressed the earnest hope, on re- 
tiring late Saturday night, that the call to Eichmond 
w^ould not come before Monday, and that he might be 
permitted to spend a quiet Sabbath, without any men- 
tion of politics, or the impeiiding troubles of the coun- 
try, and enjoy the privilege once more of commun- 
ing with God and His people in His sanctuary. But 
Heaven ordered it otherwise. 

About the dawn of that Sabbath morning, April 
21st, our door-bell rang, and the order came tliat 
Major Jackson should bring the cadets to Eichmond 
immediately. Without waiting for breakfast, he re- 
paired at once to the Institute, to make arrangements 
as speedily as possible for marching, but finding that 
several hours of preparation would necessarily be 
required, he ajjpointed the hour for starting at one 



TAKING LEAVE OF HIS HOME. 145 

o'clock P. M. He sent a message to his pastor, Dr. 
White, requesting him to come to the barracks and 
ofiFer a prayer with the command before its departure. 
All the morning he was engaged at the Institute, al- 
lowing himself only a short time to return to his 
home about eleven o'clock, when he took a hurried 
breakfast, and completed a few necessary preparations 
for his journey. Then, in the privacy of our chamber, 
he took his Bible and read that beautiful chapter in 
Corinthians beginning with the sublime hope of the 
resurrection — " For we know that if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens;" and then, kneeling down, he committed him- 
self and her whom he loved to the protecting care of 
his Father in heaven. Niver was a prayer more fer- 
vent, tender, and touching. His voice was so choked 
with emotion that he could scarcely utter the words, 
and one of his most earnest petitions was that " if con- 
sistent with His will, God would still avert the threat- 
ening danger and grant us peace !" So great was his 
desire for peace that he cherished the hope that the 
political difficulties might be adjusted without blood- 
shed, until he was convinced by stern reality that this 
hope was vain. Although he went forth so bravely 
from his cherished and beloved home, with a lirm 
trust in God, yet he hoped confidently to be permit- 
ted to return again. His faith in the success of the 
cause of the South, which he believed to be a right- 
eous one, never wavered to the end of his life ; and if 
he ever had a thought that he should not survive the 
struggle, it was never expressed to his wife. Ah ! 
how the light went out of his home when he depart- 
10 



14:6 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ed from it on that beautiful spring day ! But in the 
painful separation it was well for us that we could 
not know that this was the final breaking-up of our 
happy home, and that his footstep was never again to 
cross its threshold ! 

When Dr. White went to the Institute to hold the 
short religious service which Major Jackson requested, 
the latter told him the command would march pre- 
cisely at one o'clock, and the minister, knowing his 
punctuality, made it a point to close the service at a 
quarter before one. Everything was then in readi- 
ness, and after waiting a few moments an officer ap- 
proached Major Jackson and said : " Major, every- 
thing is now ready. May we not set out T' The 
only I'eply he made was to point to tlie dial-plate of 
the barracks clock, and not until the hand pointed to 
the hour of one was his voice heard to ring out the 
order, " Forward, march !" 

From this time forth the life of my husband be- 
longed to his beloved Southern land, and his private 
life becomes public history. 

After he had taken his departure for the army, our 
home grew more lonely and painful to me from day 
to day, and at the invitation of u friend, Mrs. William 
N. Page (one of the best and noblest of women, who 
had been as a mother to me during all my residence in 
Lexington), I went to her house and remained until 
my husband lost all hope of an early return, when he 
advised me to go to the home of my father in North 
Carolina. I had not a I'elative in Lexington, but kind 
friends did all in their power to prevent my feeling 
this need, and all hearts were drawn together in one 
common bond of trial and anxiety, for there was 



RETURN TO MY FATHER'S HOUSE. 147- 

scarcely a household upon which had not fallen a part, 
at least, of the same weight of sadness and desolation 
which flooded my own home. It was a time of keen 
anguish and fearful apprehension to us whose loved 
ones had gone forth in such a perilous and desperate 
undertaking, but one feeling seemed to pervade every 
heart, that it was a just and righteous cause ; and our 
hope was in God, who " could save by many or by 
few," and to Him the Christian people of the South 
looked and prayed. That so many united and fervent 
prayers should have been offered in vain is one of 
those mysteries which can never be fatlioraed by finite 
minds. The mighty Ruler of the nations saw fit to 
give victory to the strong arm of power, and He 
makes no mistakes. But for two years I was buoyed 
up by hope, whicli was strengthened by my husband's 
cheerfulness and courageous trust; and when he be- 
came more and more useful in the service of his 
country, I felt that God had a work for him to ac- 
complish, and my trust and prayers grew more con- 
fident that his jirecious life would be spared through- 
out the war. It was well that I could not foresee the 
future. It was in mercy that He who knew the end 
from the beginning did not lift the veil. 



CHAPTER X. 

HARPER'S FERRY— 1861. 

After marching to Staunton, the cadets were trans- 
ported by rail to Richmond. The day after their de- 
parture, while they were still en route, and had stopped 
for a short time. Major Jackson wrote as follows : 

"April 22d, 1861. My little darling, the command 
left Staunton on a special train at about a quarter-past 
ten this morning. We are now stopping for a short 
time on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge. The 
train will hardly reach Richmond before niglit. The 
w^ar spirit here, as well as at other points of the line, 
is intense. The cars had scarcely stopped before a re- 
quest was made that I would leave a cadet to drill a 
company." 

"Richmond, 33d. 

. . . "The cadets are encamped on the Fair grounds, 
which is about a mile and a half out of the city, on 
the left side of the road. We have excellent quar- 
ters. Colonel Robert E. Lee of the army is here, and 
has been made major-general. This I regard as of 
more value to us than to have General Scott as com- 
mander ; as it is understood that General Lee is to be 
our commander-in-chief, and I regard him as a better 
officer than General Scott So far as we hear, God is 
crowning our cause with success, but I don't wish to 




'^j}m^ 





Widow of ■■ Sti'iiewatl ■■ .lucksnn. 



TROOPS GATHERING AT RICHMOND. 149 

send rumors to you. I will try to give facts as they 
become known, though I may not have time to write 
more than a line or so. The governor and others hold- 
ing responsible offices have not enough time for their 
duties, they are so enormous at this date." 

"Fair Grounds, 24th. 
..." I am unable to give you the information I 
would like resjjecting things here. The State troops 
are constantly arriving. The Fair grounds are to be 
made the place for a school of practice. "William [my 
bi'other, Major W. W. Morrison, who had held an office 
under the United States government] passed through 
to-day on his way home, and looks very well. He says 
there is great uneasiness at Washington. His resigna- 
tion was accepted, although they desired him to re- 
main. Major-General Lee is commander-in-chief of all 
the land and naval forces in the State." 

" 25th. The scene here, my darling pet, looks quite 
animated. Troops are continually arriving. Yester- 
day about seven hundred came in from South Caro- 
lina. ... I received your precious letter, in which 
you speak of coming here in the event of my remain- 
ing. I would like veiy much to see my sweet little 
face, but my darling had better remain at her own 
home, as my continuance here is very uncertivin." 

While in Richmond he applied himself diligentlj' to 
the drilling and discipline of the masses of untrained 
soldiers that were pouring into the city. One day a 
raw recruit, seeing by his uniform that he was an offi- 
cer, accosted him, and begged that he would give him 



150 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V. 

some instruction as to his duties. He had just been 
assigned as corporal of the guard for the day, and was 
in total ignorance of what was required of him, his 
superior officer, proljably as ignorant as himself, not 
having ex])lained what he was to do. Major Jackson 
at once went with him around the whole circuit of sen- 
try posts, taught iiim all the "salutes," the "chal- 
lenges," and every detail of his position ; and the sol- 
dier was so impressed with his knowledge, and so 
grateful for his kindness, that he was heard to say that 
" he should always respect that man.'' It was this read- 
iness to do all in his power for others that gave him 
such a strong hold upon the hearts of his soldiers. 

Of course, he was anxious to begin active duty in 
some position worthy of his skill and experience ; 
but his first appointment was a disapj^ointment to 
him, being in the engineer department with the rank 
of major. It was distasteful to him, because he felt 
that he could not render as much service in it as by 
more active service in the field. Some of his friends 
saw that the appointment was not one suited to him, 
and at their request the Executive War Council with- 
drew it, and he received a commission as colonel of 
the Virginia forces, and was ordered to take command 
at Harper's Ferry. The day after receiving his com- 
mission, which was tlie 27th of April, when it was read 
out in the Convention for confirmation, a member of 
that bod}'^ inquired. " Who is tliis Major Jackson, tliat 
we are asked to commit to liim so responsible a postf 
" He is one," replied the member from Eockbridge, 
Hon. S. McD. Moore, " who, if you order liim to hold 
a post, will never leave it alive to be occuj)ied b}' the 
enemy." 



TAKES COMMAND AT HARPER'S FERRY. 151 

His next letter was from Winchester, dated April 
27th: 

" I came from Eichmond yesterday, and expect to 
leave here about half-past two o'clock this afternoon 
for Harper's Ferry. On last Saturday the Governor 
handed me my commission as Colonel of Virginia Vol- 
unteers, the post which I prefer abo\'e all others, and 
has given me an independent command. Little one, 
you must not expect to hear f I'om me very often, as I 
expect to have more work than I have ever had in the 
same length of time before; but don't be concerned 
about your husband, for our kind Heavenly Father 
wiU give every needful aid." 

The first news from him after reaching Harper's 
Ferry was simply a line of Spanish, expressing all the 
love of his heart. The second was not much longer, 
but in it he said : " I am very much gratified with my 
command, and would rather have this post than any 
other in the State. I am in tolerable health, jjrobably 
a little better than usual, if I had enough sleep. I 
haven't time now to do more than to teU you how 
much I love you." 

" May 3d. I feel better this morning than I have 
for some time, having got more sleep than usual last 
night. Your precious letters have been reaching me 
from time to time, and gladden your husband's heart." 

"May 8th. At present I am living in an elegant 
mansion, with Major Preston in my room. Mr. 
Massie is on my staff, and left this morning for Kich- 



152 LIFE OK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

mend as bearer of despatches, but will return in a few 
days. I am strengthening my position, and if at- 
tacked shall, with the blessing of Providence, repel 
the enemy. I am in good health, considering the 
great amount of labor which devolves upon me, and 
the loss of sleep to which I am subjected, but I hope 
to have a good sleep to-night, and trust that m}' habits 
will be more regular in the future. Colonels Preston 
and Massie have been of great service to me. Human- 
ly speaking, I don't see how I could have accomplished 
the amount of work I have done without them. . . . 
Oh, how I would love to see your precious face !" 

In his next letter he advised me to make every nec- 
essary provision for the servants, and arrange all our 
home interests, so that I could return to my father's 
sheltering roof in North Carolina. Up to this period 
he had still hoped that the gathering storm might pasg 
over without bloodshed ; but A'irginia had now adopt- 
ed the Constitution of the Confederate States, thus 
uniting her destiny with theirs, and all hope of escap- 
ing war died even in the most sanguine hearts. 

Our servants, under my supervision, had up to this 
time remained at home ; but without the firm guidance 
and restraint of their master, the excitement of the 
times proved so demoralizing to them that he deemed 
it best for me to provide them with good homes 
among the permanent residents. After doing this, 
packing our furniture and closing our house, my bur- 
dened, anxious heart found sweet relief and comfort 
upon reaching the home of my kind parents, who had 
sent one of my young brothers to bring me to them 
just as soon as my husband advised the removal. 



HARPER'S FERRY. 153 

Thenceforward my home was with them throughout 
the war, except during the few visits which I was per- 
mitted to pay my husband in the army. 

Harper's Ferry is surrounded by scenery of rare 
beauty and grandeur. The httle village occupies the 
slope of a ridge called Bolivar Heights, which runs 
along a tongue of land between the junction of the 
Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. The Potomac is the 
boundary' line between Maryland and Virginia. The 
beautiful Shenandoah, whose signification in the In- 
dian language is " sparkling waters," flows forth from 
the grand and exquisite Valley of Virginia, along the 
"western base of the Blue Ridge, until it meets the Poto- 
mac, when they unite and rush through the mountains 
towards the ocean. Through the great cleft, worn 
ages ago by the waters forcing their passage through 
the range of mountains, a picture of surpassing beauty 
is revealed in verdant, unduljiting plains, stretching 
far away into the distance, presenting a striking con- 
trast to the wild and gigantic scenery of the fore- 
ground. East of the Shenandoah the Blue Ridge rises 
immediately from the waters, overlooking the village, 
and this eminence is called Loudoun Heights. North 
of it, and across the Potomac, a twin mountain of 
equal altitude bears the name of Maryland Heights, 
and commands a view of the whole upper valley of 
the Potomac. In consequence of the greatly superior 
elevation of the heights of Loudoun and Maryland to 
that of the Bolivar Heights, upon which the village is 
built, it will be seen that Harper's Ferry was not at 
aU a position that was strong for defence, if attacked 
by an army, unless it was held as a fortress by a 
large garrison, with heavy artillery to crown all the 



154 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

triangle of mountains that surround it, and to unite 
those crests with each other. Still, it was a matter of 
paramount importance to the Confederates to secure 
and hold this post. The place had long been used by 
the Federal government as a point at which to manu- 
facture and store fire-arms, and the banks of both 
streams wei-e lined with factories and arsenals where 
thousands of arms were annually made and stored. As 
soon as war became imminent, the possession of Har- 
per's Ferry, with its arms and mimitions of war, be- 
came such a necessity to the Virginians that the mili- 
tia companies of the surrounding country resolved to 
eflFect its capture ; but while they were assembling 
for this purjiose, the Federal officer in command of 
the place heard of their design, and, after setting fire 
to the factories and store-houses, deserted the town. 
However, as the factories were saved by the efforts 
of the Virginians, and as they had already removed and 
secreted a large number of arms, he did not inflict 
such a blow as he had intended. Harper's Ferry now 
became the rendezvous of all the troops in the Valley 
of Virginia, and it was the command of these and 
others sent to reinforce them that was given to Colo- 
nel Jackson when he received his commission in the 
service of Virginia. Many other companies of volun- 
teers flocked from the valley, all of whom were filled 
with ardor and enthusiasm; but the majority were 
without training or discipline, and many were unpro- 
vided with arms. Altogether the force at Harper's 
Ferry consisted of about twenty-five hundred men — 
four hundred Kentuckians and the rest Virginians — 
but volunteers from the South afterwards swelled the 
number to forty-five hundred men. There were eight 



SECRECY IN MILITARY OPERATIONS. 155 

companies of cavalry, and four battalions of field ar- 
tillery with fifteen light guns ; but all was a confused 
mass when Colonel Jackson came as a stranger to 
take command. However, with the aid of Colonels 
Preston and Massie and two cadets whom he had 
brought as drill-masters, and by his own tireless en- 
ergy, order and consistency soon took the place of 
chaos and confusion. As matters then stood, Harper's 
Ferry was regarded as the most important position 
in Virginia. Its command was the advance guard 
of all the Southern forces, and it was expected that 
blood would first be shed there, as a large force under 
General Patterson was threatening an attack, and 
through that pass it was surmised the invaders would 
pour into the State. Regarding it as a necessity to 
the protection and defence of his post, Colonel Jack- 
son had taken possession of the Maryland Heights, 
which towered so far above the village and Bolivar 
Heights as greatly to endanger his force should they 
be seized by the enemy. In his despatches to the gov- 
ernment, he declared his determination, if attacked, to 
make such a resistance as should convince the enemy 
of the desperate resolution of the people of the South. 
From the very first. Colonel Jackson showed that 
reticence and secrecy as to his military operations 
that was so marked in all his campaigns, and con- 
tributed so greatly to his success. It was his maxim 
that, in war, mystery was the key to success. While 
in command at Harper's Ferry, on one occasion, he 
was visited by a committee from the Legislature of 
Maryland, whose object appeared to be to learn his 
plans. This dignified body was received with courtesy, 
as the co-operation of their State was earnestly de- 



156 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

sired by the South, and some of Colonel Jackson's 
friends were curious to see how he would stand the 
test of being questioned upon mihtary matters and 
keep his secrets, while yet showing the utmost polite- 
ness to his guests. After pumping him for some time 
without any satisfactory result, one of the delegation 
ventured to ask directl}' : " Colonel, how many troops 
have you V He promptly replied : "• I should be glad 
if Lincoln thought I had fifteen thousand." 

Upon the formal union of Virginia with the South- 
ern Confederacy, all her forces and armaments were 
turned over to that government. The capital of the 
Confederate States was transferred from Montgomery, 
Alabama, to Richmond, a city rich in historic associa- 
tions from the days of Washington, and now destined 
to be the centre of the South in the momentous strug- 
gle of the next four years. 

Among the very fii'st notices of Colonel Jackson 
that appeared in the papers was the following : 

" The commanding officer at Harper's Ferry is 
worthy of the name he bears, for ' Old Hickory ' him- 
self was not a more determined, iron-nerved man than 
he. Born in Virginia, educated at West Point, trained 
in the Mexican war, occupied since at the pet mili- 
tary institution of the Old Dominion, his whole life 
has been a preparation for this struggle. A brother 
officer says of him : ' Jackson does not know fear !' 
Above all, he is a devoted Christian, and the strongest 
man becomes stronger when his heart is pure and his 
hands are clean." 

One of the first acts of the Confederate authorities 



SUPERSEDED BY GENERAL JOHNSTON. 157 

after taking possession at Richmond was to appoint 
General Josepli E. Johnston to the command at 
Harper's Ferry, whose higher rank, age, and greater 
experience as an officer it was thought would render 
him a more suitable commander for this most impor- 
tant post than Colonel Jackson. Accordingly', General 
Johnston was sent on to take command, without any 
instructions to the latter from the government to turn 
it over to him ; and as he had been placed there by 
the authority of General Lee, as commander of the 
Virginia troops, his fidelity as a soldier constrained 
him to hold his position until he should receive orders 
from the same source to resign it into other hands. 
This was an embarrassing situation for both officers, 
but fortunately a communication soon came from 
General Lee, in which he referred to General John- 
ston as commander at Harper's Ferry ; and Colonel 
Jackson at once recognized this as official evidence 
that he was superseded, and as promptly yielded the 
command to General Johnston. The latter was too 
true and honorable a soldier himself not to appreciate 
the conduct of a man whose inexorable and unflinch- 
ing devotion to duty threw him into a momentary 
collision with himself ; and, ever after, both their 
official and social relations were cordial and pleasant, 
and the superior officer had no more faithful and zeal- 
ous supporter than his predecessor at Harper's Ferry. 
To this change of command Jackson thus alludes in 
his letters : 

'■ Harper's Ferry, May 37tli, 1861. 

" My precious darling, I suppose you have heard 
that General Joseph E. Johnston, of the Confederate 
army, has been placed in command here. You must 



158 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

not concern youreelf about the change. Colonel Pres- 
ton will explain it all to you. I hope to have more 
time, as long as I am not in command of a post, to 
write longer letters to my darling pet." 

The A^irginia regiments at the different posts were 
now organized into a brigade, and Colonel Jackson 
was appointed its commander. He writes : " I am in 
command of tlie Virginia troops stationed here, and 
am doing well. I have been superseded by General 
Johnston, as stated in a former letter, but so far as I 
have yet learned, I have not been ordered to the 
Northwest." He had a great desire to go to his native 
section of Virginia, and devote his energies to rescuing 
that part of the State, and saving it to the South. 

"I am very thankful to an ever- kind Providence 
for enabling you so satisfactorily to arrange our home 
matters. I just love my business little woman. Let 
Mr. Tebbs have the horse and rockawav at his own 
price ; and if he is not able to pay for them. 3'ou may 
give them to him, as he is a minister of the Gospel. . . . 
I have written as you requested to Winchester, that 
if you were there, to come on ; but, my little pet, whilst 
I should be delighted to see j'ou, yet if you have not 
started, do not think of coming. . . . My habitual 
prayer is that our kind Heavenly Father will give 
unto my darling every needful blessing, and that 
she may have that 'peace which passeth all under- 
standinof !' " 



^O ' 



The next letter touches upon the persistent secrecy 
and reticence in his military affairs wliich lias already 



"THE STONEWALL BRIGADE." 159 

been noticed, and shows that even to his wife he did 
not confide his plans any more than to his comrades 
in arms : 

"June 4th. Little one, j'^ou wrote me that you 
wanted longer letters, and now just prepare yourself 
to have your wish gratified. You say that your hus- 
band never writes you any news. I suppose you 
meant military news, for I have written you a great 
deal about your esjwso and how much he loves j'ou. 
What do you want with military news ^ Don't you 
know that it is unmilitary and unlike an officer to 
write news respecting one's post ? You wouldn't wish 
your husband to do an unofficer-like thing, would you ? 
I have a nice, green yard, and if you were only here, 
how much we could enjoy it together! But do not 
attempt to come, as before you could get here I might 
be ordered elsewhere. My chamber is on the second 
story, and the roses climb even to that height, and 
come into my window, so that I have to push them 
out, when I want to lower it. I wish you could see 
with me the beautiful roses in the yard and garden, 
and upon the wall of the house here; but my sweet, 
little sunny face is what I want to see most of all. 
Little one, you are so precious to somebody's heart ! I 
have been greatly blessed by our kind Heavenly Father, 
in health and otherwise, since leaving home. The 
troops here have been divided into brigades, and the 
Virginia forces under General Johnston constitute the 
First Brigade, of which I am in command." 

This afterwards became the famous " Stonewall Bri- 
gade." The Kev. Dr. William X, Pendleton, rector of 



160 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the Episcopal Church at Lexington, a graduate of West 
Point, had command of a battery of light field-guns, 
which Avas manned chiefly by the young men of the 
college and town of Lexington. It was attached to 
the Stonewall Brigade, in which it was known as the 
Rockbridge Artillery. This battery contained seven 
Masters of Art of the University of Virginia, forty- 
two other college graduates, nineteen theological stu- 
dents, and others (including a son of General Lee), 
who were among the noblest young men of the South, 
and a proportion of Christian men as surprisingly large 
as it was highly gratifying. The very best blood of 
the South was rejM'esented among these volunteer 
soldiers, many of them taking the place of privates. 

On the 16th of June General Johnston evacuated 
Harper's Ferry. Doctor Dabney's explanation of this 
movement was, that the Confederate commander 
speedily learned the untenable nature of his position 
there, and, having accomplished the temporary pur- 
poses of its occupation by the removal of the valuable 
machinery and materials for the manufacture of fire- 
arms, he determined to abandon the place. Win- 
chester, being the true strategic point for the defence 
of the upper regions of Virginia, thither General 
Johnston resolved to remove his army. In his retreat 
he offered battle, but did not think it prudent to attack 
the enemy, whose force was very greatly superior to 
his own. In his letters Colonel Jackson gives an ac- 
count "of tliis march. June 1-ith he wrote from Har- 
per's Ferry : 

" We are about leaving this place. General John- 
ston has withdrawn his troops from the Heights 



LETTERS FROM CAMP. 161 

(Maryland and Virginia), has blown up and burnt the 
railroad bridge across the Potomac, and is doing the 
same with respect to the public buildings. Yesterday 
morning, I was directed to get ready to evacuate the 
place, and in the evening expected to march, but up 
to the present time the order has not come. I am 
looking for it at any moment, and, as I am at leisure, 
will devote myself to writing to ray precious pet. I 
am very thankful to our kind Heavenly Father for 
having sent Joseph [my brother] for you, and I trust 
that you are now safely and happily at Cottage 
Home [my father's place], and that you found the 
family all well. You speak of others knowing more 
about me than my darling does, and say you have 
heard through others that I am a brigadier-general. 
By this time I suppose you have found out that the 
report owes its origin to Madam Rumor." 

" June 18th. On Sunday, by order of General John- 
ston, the entire force left Harper's Feny, marched 
towards Winchestei", passed through Charlestown, and 
halted for the night about two miles this side. The 
next morning we moved towards the enemy, who 
were between Martinsburg and Williamsport, Mary- 
land, and encamped for the night at Bunker Hill. 
Yesterday morning we were to have marched at sun- 
rise, and I hoped that in the evening, or this morning, 
we should have engaged the enemy ; but, instead of 
doing so. General Johnston made some disposition for 
receiving the enemy if they should attack us, and 
thus we were kept until about noon, when he gave 
the order to return towards Winchester. Near sunset 
we reached this place, which is about three miles 
11 



162 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

north of Winchester, on the turnpike leading thence 
to Martinsburg. On Sunda}% when our troops were 
marching on the enemy, they were so inspirited as 
apparently to forget the fatigue of the march ; and 
though some of them were suffering from hunger, this 
and other privations appeared to be forgotten, and 
the march continued at the rate of about three miles 
an hour. But when they were ordered to retire, their 
reluctance was manifested by their snail-like pace. 
I hope the general will do something soon. Since 
we left Har]>er s Ferry, an active movement towards 
repelling the enemy is, of coui-se, expected. I trust 
that through the blessing of God we shall soon be 
given an opportunity of driving the invaders from 
this region." 

" IIeadqcarters First Virgini.\ Brigade, 
Ca.mp Stephens, June 32d. 

"My darling esposita. I am at present about four 
miles north of Martinsburg. and on the road leading 
to Williamsport, Maryland. General Johnston ordered 
me to Martinsburg on last Wednesday, and there ap- 
peared to be a prospect for a battle on Thursday, but 
the enemy withdrew from our side of the river. Our 
troops are very anxious for an engagement, but this is 
the second time the enem^' have retreated before our 
advance. However, we may have an engagement an}-^ 
day. Eumor reports the Federal troojis as concentrat- 
ing near Shepherdstown, on the Maryland side of the 
Potomac. A great number of families have left their 
homes. By order of General Johnston I have de- 
stroyed a large number of locomotives and cars on the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. ... I have just learned 



MOVEMENTS IN THE FIELD. 163 

that the enemy are again crossing into Virginia at 
Williamsport, and I am making the necessary arrange- 
ments for advancing to meet them." 

"Monday morning, June 2J:th. I advanced with 
Colonel J. W. Allen's regiment and Captain Pendle- 
ton's Battery, but the enemy retreated across the river, 
and, after reconnoitring their camp, I returned to my 
present position, four miles north of Martinsburg. The 
Federal troops were in two camps, one estimated at 
about six hundred, and the other at nine hundred. 
You spoke of the cause of the South being gloomy. 
It is not so here. I am well satisfied that the enemy 
are afraid to meet us, and our troops are anxious for 
an engagement. A few days since Colonel A. P. Hill, 
who had been sent to Eomney, despatched a detach- 
ment to burn a bridge eighteen miles west of Cumber- 
land. The enterprise was successful. The enemy lost 
two guns and their colors. I regret to see our ladies 
making those things they call ' liavelocks ' [a cover- 
ing to protect the head and neck from the sun], as 
their time and money could be much more usefully 
employed in providing haversacks for the soldiers, 
many of whom have none in which to carry their ra- 
tions. I have been presented with three Havelocks, 
but I do not intend to wear them, for, as far as I am 
concerned, I shall show that such protection is unnec- 
essary in this climate." 

"Berkeley County, June 28tb. 

..." I am bivouacking. I sleep out of doors without 
any cover except my bedding, but have not felt any 
inconvenience from it that I am aware of in the way 
of impaired health. Last evening, opposite Williams- 



164 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

port, one of our men was shot in the abdomen by tne 
enem}^ but he is still living, and I trust will recover. 
I am inclined to think it was done by a A-^irginian 
rather than a Northerner. There is a great deal of 
disloyalty in this county, although it has diminished. 
Mr. Edwin Lee, son-in-law of General Pendleton, is 
my aid, and Sandy Pendleton is my ordnance officer 
and acting adjutant -general. Last night the news 
came, after I had retired, that the enemy had packed 
their wagons with baggage, thus indicating a move in 
some direction. I didn't trouble my command, but 
merely gave such orders as were necessarj' to prevent 
their approach without giving me timely notice; but, 
in consequence, I had my rest disturbed, and am feel- 
ing the effects of it to-day. Yesterday Lieutenant 
Bowman, of the Eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers, who was captured some time since opposite 
"Williamsport by Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, of the cav- 
alry, and now in Richmond on his parole of honor, sent 
a letter via here to Williamsport which required us 
to send a flag of truce. All went off well." 

The next letter was written upon a sheet which had 
been captured from the Federals. It was boi-dered all 
around with an edge of bright red, and at the top of 
the first page, in the left-hand corner, was a gayly 
colored picture of the statue of Liberty, holding over 
her head a United States flag, and beneath her feet 
were the words " Onward to Victory !" 

" Darkesville, July 4th. 

" My precious darling, day before yesterday I 
learned that the enemy had crossed the Potomac and 



THE FIRST ENGAGEMENT. 165 

were advancing upon me. I immediately ordered my 
command under arms, and gave such instructions as I 
desired to have carried out until I should be heard from 
again, and with Captain Pendleton's Battery and one 
regiment of Virginia volunteers advanced to meet the 
Federal troops. After proceeding to the locality which 
had been indicated as occupied by them, and ascertain- 
ing the position of their advance, I made the necessary 
movement for bringing a small part of my force into 
action. Soon the firing commenced, and the advance 
of the enemy was driven back. Tliey again advanced, 
and were repulsed. My men got possession of a house 
and barn, which gave them a covered position and an 
eifective fire; but hnding that the enemy were en- 
deavoring to get in my rear and that my men were 
being endangered, I gave the order to their colonel 
that, if pressed, he must fall back, lie obeyed, and 
fell back. The artillery of the foe opened upon me, 
and I directed Captain Pendleton to take a favorable 
position in rear and return their fire with one gun. 
His first ball cleared the road, which was occupied by 
the enemy." [It is said that, before firing this first 
ball upon the enemy, the reverend officer lifted his 
eyes to heaven and uttered the prayer, " Lord, have 
mercy upon their souls !"] " I still continued to fall 
back, checking the enemy when it became necessary, 
so as to give time for my baggage to get into column 
at camp before I should arrive there, as one of my ob- 
jects in advancing was to keep the enemy from reach- 
ing my camp before my wagons could get out of 
the way. Besides my cavalry, I had only one regi- 
ment engaged, and one cannon, though I had ordered 
up two other regiments, so as to use them if necessary. 



166 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

My cannon fired only eight times, while the enemy 
fired about thirty-five times ; but the first fire of Cajv 
tain Pendleton's Battery was probably worth more 
than all of theirs. 1 desired, as far as practicable, to 
save my ammunition. Mj' orders from General John- 
ston required me to retreat in the event of the advance 
in force of the enemy, so as soon as I ascertained that 
he was in force I obeyed my instructions. I had twelve 
wounded and thirteen killed and missing. My cavalry 
took forty -nine prisoners. A number of the enemy 
were killed, but I do not know how. manj'. As I 
obeyed my orders, and fell back, after ascertainins: 
that the Federals were in force, the killed of the ene- 
my did not fall into our hands. My officers and men 
behaved beautifully, and were anxious for a battle, 
this being on!}' a skirmish. [The afl'air was known as 
that of " Falling Waters.'"] I wrote out my oificial re- 
port last night, and think General Johnston forward- 
ed it to Eichmond. This morning one of his staff-ofil- 
cers told me that the general had i-ecommended me 
for a brigadier-general. I am very thankful that an 
ever-kind Providence made me an instrument in carry- 
ing out General Johnston's orders so successfully. . . . 
The enemy are celebrating the 4th of July in Mar- 
tinsburg, but we are not observing the day." 

Upon his return to Winchester he received the fol- 
lowing note from General Lee : 

'• Richmond, V.\., July 3d, 1861. 
" My dear general, I have the pleasure of sending 
you a commission of brigadier-general in the Provis- 
ional Army, and to feel that you merit it. May your 
advancement increase your usefulness to the State. 
" Very truly. K. E. Lee." 



IS MADE A BRIGADIER GENERAL. 167 

His surprise and gratification at his promotion are 
expressed in the following letter : 

" I have been officially informed of my promotion 
to be a brigadier-general of the Provisional Array of 
the Southern Confederacy, but it was prior to my skir- 
mish with the enemy. My letter from the Secretary 
of War was dated 17th of June. Thinking it would 
be gratifying to you, I send the letters of Generals 
Lee and Johnston. From the latter you will see that 
he desired my promotion for my conduct on the 2d 
and 3d instant. On the 3d I did nothing more than 
join General Johnston. My promotion was beyond 
what I anticipated, as I only expected it to be in the 
volunteer forces of the State. One of my greatest 
desires for advancement is the gratification it will 
give my darling, and [the opportunity] of serving my 
country more efficiently. I have had all that I ought 
to desire in the line of promotion. I should be very 
ungrateful if I were not contented, and exceedingly 
thankful to our kind Heavenly Father. May his bless- 
ing ever rest on you is my fervent prayer. Try to 
live near to Jesus, and secure that peace which flows 
like a river." 

In the next letter he alludes to the destruction of 
the property of the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad by 
the command of General Johnston : 

..." It was your husband that did so much mischief 
at Martinsburg. To destroy so many fine locomotives, 
cars, and railroad property was a sad work, but I had 
my orders, and my duty was to obey. If the cost of 



168 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the property could only have been expended in dis- 
seminating the gospel of the Prince of Peace, how 
much good might have been expected ! . . . You must 
not be concerned at our falling back to this place 
[Winchester]. . . . One of the most tr\Mng things here 
is the loss of sleep. Last night I was awakened by a 
messenger from the house of a friend where some cav- 
alry had stopped. One of his fair daughters took it 
into her head that the cavalry belonged to the enemy, 
whereupon she wrote me a note, much to my discom- 
fort ; but the field-officer of the day went over to ex- 
amine into the case, and found the officer in command 
was one of his friends. The people here are very kind ; 
so much so that I have to decline many invitations to 
accept their hospitalities. At present I am in a very 
comfortable building, but we are destitute of furni- 
ture, except such things as we have been able to 
gather together. I am very thankful to our Heavenly 
Father for having given me such a fine brigade." 

"Winchester, July 16th. 
..." Last evening the enemy encamped at Bunker 
Hill, about ten miles from us, and this morning we 
would have given them a warm reception had they 
advanced, but we have heard nothing respecting their 
movements to-day. The news from the Northwest is 
unfavorable, as j-ou have probably seen in the papers, 
but we must not be discouraged. God will, I am well 
satisfied, in His own good time and way, give us the 
victory. ... In reply to your queries, I am sleeping on 
the floor of a good room, but I have been sleei^ing out 
in camp several weeks, and generally found that it 
agreed with me well, except when it rained, and even 



HIS CHEERFGL, HOPEFUL SPIRIT. 169 

then it was but slightly objectionable. I find that 
sleeping in the open air, with no covering but my 
blankets and the blue sky for a canopy, is more re- 
freshing than sleeping in a room. My table is rather 
poor, but usually I get corn-bread. All things consid- 
ered, however, I am doing well. ... As to writing 
so as to mail letters which would travel on Sunday, 
when it can be avoided, I have never had occasion, 
after years of experience, to regret our system. Al- 
though sister I gets letters from her husband every 

day, is she any happier than my esjwsita? Look 
how our kind Heavenly Father has prospered us! I 
feel well assured that in following our rule, which is 
Biblical. I am in the path of duty, and that no evil can 
come nigh me. All things work together for my good. 
J>ut when my sweet one writes, let the letters be long, 
and your esposo hopes to send you full ones in return ; 
and when the wars and troubles are all over, I trust 
that, through divine mercj'^, we shall have many happy 
days togetlier." 

He always wrote and talked in the same hopeful, 
cheerful strain, never seeming to entertain a thought 
that he might fall ; or if he had such a thought, he was 
too unselfish to overshadow liis wife's happiness by 
intimating it to her. With the apostle Paul, he could 
say that " living or dying he was the Lord's," but he 
never expressed a desire to live so strongly as not to 
survive his %v{fe. From the very thought of such a 
bereavement, his affectionate nature seemed to shrink 
and recoil more than from any earthly calamity, and 
he often expressed the liope, with the greatest fer- 
vor and tenderness, that whatever trial his Heavenly 



170 LIFE OF GEiVEKAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

Father sent upon him, this might be spared. Ir sick- 
ness, he was the most devoted of nurses — his great and 
loving heart having not a fibre of selfishness in it, and 
there was no end to the self-sacrifice he would endure. 
Once, during a painful though not dangerous illness 
in his family, after exhausting every means he could 
think of for relief, his anxiety became so overpower- 
ing that he burst into tears, and his manh' frame 
shook with convulsive emotion. Such was the ex- 
quisite tenderness of heart of the man who, as a sol- 
dier, could bear every privation, and on the march and 
in the field set his men an example of the most heroic 
endurance. This ming-ling of tenderness and strength 

DO O 

in his nature is illustrated by a letter to one of his offi- 
cers who had obtained leave of absence to visit a strick- 
en household. A beloved member of his family had 
just died ; another was dangerously ill ; and he asked 
for an extension of his furlough. This was the reply: 

" Mt dear Majok, — I have received your sad letter, 
and wish I could relieve your sorrowing heart ; but 
human aid cannot heal the wound. From me you 
have a friend's sympathy, and I wish the suflfering 
condition of our country permitted me to show it. 
But we must think of the living and of those who are 
to come after us, and see that, with God's blessing, we 
transmit to them the freedom we have enjoyed. "What 
is life without honor? Degradation is worse than 
death. It is necessary that you should be at your 
post immediately. Join me to-morrow morning. 
"Your sympathizing friend, T. J. Jackson." 

Among the stores captured at Harpers Ferry, not 



"OLD SORREL." 171 

the least valuable was a train of cars on the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, bound for Washington, loaded with 
horses for the government. This was a lawful prize, 
and was at once turned over to the Confederate army, 
except two which Jackson purchased ; and, hoping that 
hostilities would soon blow over, he selected the small- 
er one, which he called " Fancy," as a present for his 
wife, thinking his size and gait were admirably suited 
for the use of a lady. His name of " Fancy '" seemed 
rather a misnomer, for he was anything but a fancy- 
looking animal ; but he was well formed, compactly 
built, round and fat (never " raw-boned, gaunt, and 
grim," as he has often been described), and his powers 
of endurance were perfectly wonderful. Indeed, he 
seemed absolutely indefatigable. His eyes were his 
chief beauty, being most intelligent and expressive, 
and as soft as a gazelle's. He had a peculiar habit of 
lying down like a dog when the command halted for 
rest. His master made a pet of him, and often fed him 
apples from his own hand. Genei-al Jackson had 
several other horses, one or two being superb creat- 
ures, which had been presented to him, but he prefer- 
red the little sorrel to them all, finding his gait, as he 
expressed it, "as easy as the rocking of a cradle." He 
rode him in nearly every battle in which he was en- 
gaged. After being lost for a time, upon the fall of 
his master at Chancellorsville, he was found by a Con- 
federate soldier, and kindly sent by Governor Letcher 
to the family of General Jackson in North Carolina, 
and lived many years in Lincoln County on the 
farm of the Rev. Dr. Morrison, father-in-law of the 
general, and with whom his family made their home. 
Here he was treated to the greenest of jjastures and 



172 



LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 



the best of care, and did excellent service as a family 
horse, both in harness and under the saddle, and for a 
long time was the riding-horse of the venerable min- 




' OLD SORKEL. 



ister to his countr\' churches. One of the voung 
Morrisons used to say that Old Fancy (as he was called 
on the farm) "had more sense, and was the greatest 
dd rascal he ever saw." He could make as good use 
of his mouth in lifting latches and letting down bars 
as a man could of his hands, and it was a frequent 
habit of his to let himself out of his stable, and then 
^o deliberately to the doors of all the other horses and 
mules, literate each one, and then march ofiF with 
them all behind him. like a soldier leading his com- 
mand, to the green fields of grain around the farm — a 
fence proving no obstacle to him, for he could, with 
his mouth, lift ofiF the rails one by one until the fence 
was low enough to jump over ; so that he was contin- 
ually getting into mischief. But he was such a \^t 



"OLD SORREL." 173 

that he was allowed to do anything; and was often 
taken to county fairs, where he was an object of as 
much interest as one of the old heroes of the war. 
His hardiness was shown by his great longevity, for 
he was over thirty years of age when he died, in 1886, 
at the Soldiers' Home in Richmond, Virginia ; and 
such was still the enthusiasm for the old war-horse 
that his body was sent to a taxidermist to be mount- 
ed. It now stands in a glass case in the library, 
where the veterans, as they look upon it, can im 
agine that the}' see again their beloved commander as 
they have seen him so often on the field of battle. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

THE FIRST BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 

"While General Johnston's movements were going 
on in the lower Valley of Virginia, others of great im- 
portance were being made elsewhere in the i>tate, the 
chief of which was the organization of an army by 
General Beauregard at Manassas Junction, to cover 
the approach to Richmond, the capital of the Confed- 
eracy. This Junction was about twenty-five miles 
from Alexandria, and was manifestly the strategic 
point for the defence of Northeastern Virginia. The 
United States troops Avere now massed in and around 
Washington, preparing for an advance into Virginia, 
and all the energies of the Confederate authorities 
were concentrated upon pi'eparations to repel the in- 
vaders. On both sides Manassas was tlie centre of 
expectation. Generals Beauregard and Johnston were 
acting in concert, and on the ISth of July Johnston 
received a telegram from Beauregard that the enemy 
was advancing in force upon Bull Bun, and calling 
upon him to hasten to his assistance. General Mc- 
Dowell, with a large army, was marching forward to 
.ittack the Confederates with the confidence of an easy 
victory. They had already driven back General Beau- 
regard's advance guard, and seemed likely to carry all 
before them wiien the arrival of Johnston's troops 
turned the fortune of the da}'. 



ON THE MARCH TO THE FIELD. 175 

We will now let General Jackson give his account 
of the movements of his command at this juncture. 
He writes : 

" On the 18th of July I struck my tents, rolled 
them up, and left them on the ground, and about noon 
marched through Winchester, as I had been encamped 
on the otlier side of tlie town. About an hour and 
a half after leaving, I had the following order from 
General Johnston published to my brigade : ' Our 
gallant army under General Beauregard is now at- 
tacked by overwhelming numbers. The commanding 
general hopes that his troops will step out like men, 
and make a forced march to save the country.' At 
this stirring appeal the soldiers rent the air with 
shouts of joy, and all was eagerness and animation 
whei'e before there had been only lagging and unin- 
terested obedience. We continued our march until 
we reached Millwood, in Clarke County, where we 
halted for an hour or so, having found an abundance 
of good water, and there we took a lunch. Resuming 
the march, mj' brigade continuing in front, we arrived 
at the Shenandoah River about dark. The water was 
waist-deep, but the men gallantly waded the river. 
This halting and crossing delayed us for some time ; 
but about two o'clock in the morning we arrived at 
the little village of Paris, where we remained sleep- 
ing until nearly dawn. I mean the troops slept, as 
my men were so exhausted that I let them sleep while 
I kept watch myself." 

After pacing around the camp, or leaning upon the 
fence, watching the slumbers of his men until nearly 



176 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

daylight, he yielded his post to a member of his staff, 
who insisted on relieving him, and he then threw his 
own wearied frame down upon a bed of leaves in a 
fence corner, and snatched an hour or two of sleep, 
after which he rose at dawn and roused his men to 
continue their march.* 

* This Night-watch by the Commander has been celebrated 
in a poem, which appeared after liis death, and is said to have 
been written by Mr. James R. Randall. 

" When the command halted for the night, and the oflBcer of 
the day went to General Jackson and said, ' General, the men are 
all so wearied that there is not one but is asleep,' and asked if 
he should not awaken some of them to keep guard, he replied, 
' No, let the poor fellows sleep, and I will watch the camp to- 
night.' And all those hours till the daylight dawned he walked 
around that camp, the lone sentinel for that brave but weary and 
silent body of Virginia heroes; and when the glorious morning 
broke, the soldiers awoke fresh and ready for action, all uncon- 
scious of the noble vigils kept over their slumbere. 

" The Lone Sektry. 

" 'Twas in the dying of the day, 

Tlie darkness grew so still, 
The drowsy pipe of evening birds 

Was hushed upon the hill. 
Athwart the shadows of the vale 

Slumbered the men of might — 
And one lone sentry paced his rounds. 

To watch the camp that night. 

" A grave and solemn man was he. 
With deep and sombre brow, 
Whose dicamful eyes seemed hoarding up 

Some unaccomplished vow. 
His wistful glance peered o'er the plains 
Beneath the starry light. 



"THE LONE SENTRY." 177 

In his letter General Jackson continues : " Bright 
and early we resumed the march, and the head of our 
column arrived at Piedmont, on the Manassas Gap 
Railroad, about six o'clock in the morning. After get- 
ting our breakfast, the brigade commenced going 
aboard of the cars, and the same day all that could be 
carried arrived at Manassas about four o'clock in the 
afternoon, without much suffering to ray men or to 
myself. The next clay we rested, and the following 
day was the memorable 21st of July." 

" Manassas, July 33(3. 

" My peecioos Pet, — Yesterday we fought a great 

battle and gained a great victory, for which all the 

glory is due to God alone. Althougli under a heavy 

fire for several continuous hours, I received only one 

And with the miirinured name of God 
He watched the camp that night. 

" The future opened unto him 

Its grand and awful scroll ; 
Manassas and the Valley march 

Came heaving o'er his soul ; 
Richmond and Sharpsburg thundered by 

With that tremendous fight 
Which gave him to the angel hosts 

Who watched the camp that night. 

" We mourn for him who died for us 
With that resistless moan, 
While up the valley of the Lord 

He marches to the Throne ! 
He kept the ftiith of men and saints, 

Sublime and pure and bright; 
He sleeps — and all is well with him 
Who watched the camp that night." 
12 



178 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

wound, the breaking of the longest finger of ray left 
hand; but the doctor says the finger can be saved. 
It was broken about midway between the hand and 
knuckle, the ball passing on the side next the fore- 
finger. Had it struck the centre, I should have lost 
the linger. My horse was wounded, but not killed. 
Tour coat got an ugly wound near the hip, but my 
servant, who is very handy, has so far repaired it that 
it doesn't show very much. My preservation was en- 
tirely due, as was the glorious victory, to our God, to 
whom be all the honor, praise, and glory. The battle 
was the hardest that I have ever been in, but not near 
so hot in its fire. I commanded in the centre more 
particularly, though one of m}' regiments extended to 
the right for some distance. There were other com- 
manders on my right and left. Whilst great credit is 
due to other parts of our gallant army, God made ray 
brigade more instrumental than any other in repulsing 
the main attack. This is for your information onl}' — ■ 
Say nothing about it. Let others speak praise, not 
myself." 

Though he was so reticent of his own part in the 
battle, it was well known that his brigade saved the 
day, the credit of which was justly given to its com- 
mander. At one moment it seemed as if all was lost. 
The troops of South Carolina, commanded by General 
Bee, had been overwhelmed, and he rode up to Jack- 
son in despair, exclaiming, " They are beating us back !'' 
"Then," said Jackson, " we will give them the bayo- 
net !" This cool reply showed the unconquered mind 
of one who never knew that he was beaten, and put 
fresh courage into the heart of him who was almost 



"JACKSON STANDS LIKE A STOXE WALL!" 179 

ready to acknowledge defeat ; and, as he rode back to 
his command, he cried out to them to " look at Jack- 
son !" saying, " There he stands like a stone wall ! 
Rally behind the Virginians!" The cry and the ex- 
ample had its effect, and the broken ranks were re- 
formed, and led to another chai'ge, when their leader 
fell dead with his face to the foe. But with his last 
breath he had christened his companion in arms, in the 
baptism of fire, with the name that he was henceforth 
to bear, not only in the Southern army, but in history, 
of Stonewall Jackson, while the troops that followed 
him on that day counted it glory enough to bear on 
their colors the proud title of the " Stonewall Brigade." 

Soon after the battle he writes : 

" Mr. James Davidson's son, Frederick, and William 
Page (son of my dear friend) were killed. Young 
Eiley's life was saved by his Bible, which was in the 
breast-pocket of his coat. . . . My finger troubles me 
considerably, and renders it very difficult for me to 
write, as the wind blows my paper, and I can only 
use my right hand. I have an excellent camping- 
ground about eight miles from Manassas on the road 
to Fairfax Court House. I am sleeping in a tent, and 
have requested that the one which my darling had 
the loving kindness to order for rae should not be sent. 
If it is already made, we can use it in time of peace. 
. . . General Lee has recently gone to the western 
part of our State, and I hope we may soon hear that 
our God has again crowned our arms with victory." 

" August 5th. And so you think the papers ought to 
say more about your husband ! My brigade is not a 



180 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

brigade of newspaper correspondents. I know that the 
First Brigade was the first to meet and pass our retreat- 
ing forces — to push on with no otlier aid than the smiles 
of God ; to boklly take its position with the artillery 
that was under my command — to arrest the victorious 
foe in his onward progress — to liold him in check un- 
til reinforcements ari'ived — and hnally to charge bay- 
onets, and, thus advancing, pierce the enemy's centre. 
I am well satisfied with what it did, and so are my 
generals, Johnston and Beauregard. It is not to be 
expected that I should receive the credit that Gen- 
erals Beauregard and Johnston would, because I was 
under them ; but I am thankful to my ever-kind Heav- 
enly Father that lie makes me content to await His 
own good time and pleasure for commendation — know- 
ing tliat all things work together for my good. If my 
brigade can always play so important and useful a 
part as it did in the last battle, I trust I shall ever be 
most grateful. As you think the papers do not notice 
me enough, I send a specimen, which you will see from 
the up])er jiart of the paper is a leader. My darling, 
never distrust our God, who doeth all things well. 
In due time He will make manifest all His pleasure, 
which is all His peo|)le should desire. You must not 
be concerned at seeing other parts of the army lauded, 
and my brigade not mentioned. 'Truth is mighty 
and will prevail.' When the official reports are pub- 
lished, if not before, I expect to see justice done this 
noble body of patriots. My command consists of the 
Second, Fourth, Fifth, Twenty seventh, and Thirty- 
third regiments of Virginia Volunteers, commanded 
respectively by Colonels James W. Allen, James F. 
Preston, Kenton Harper, W. W. Gordon, and A. C. 



A CHARACTERISTIC LETTER. 181 

Curamings ; and, in addition, we have Colonel Pendle- 
ton's Battery. My staff-officers are Lieutenant-colonel 
Francis B. Jones, acting adjutant-general ; Lieutenant- 
colonel J. W. Massie, aide; Lieutenant A. S. Pendle- 
ton, ordnance officer ; Captain John A. Harman, quar- 
termaster ; and Captain W. J. Hawkes, commissary." 

Dr. Dabney says : " It is due to the credit of Jack- 
son's wisdom in the selection of his instruments, and to 
the gallant and devoted men who composed this staff, 
to state that all of them who survived rose with their 
illustrious leader to corresponding posts of usefulness 
and distinction." A number of other officers subse- 
quently served upon his staff, who deserve to be includ- 
ed in this eulogy. General Jackson continues : 

" August 10th. . . . Prince Napoleon passed here 
on the evening of the 8th, en route from Washington 
to Manassas. He spent the night with General John- 
ston, took a view of the battle-field yesterday morning, 
and then returned to Washington, passing here about 
eleven o'clock a.m. I only saw him at a distance." 

A day or two after the battle of Manassas, and be- 
fore the news of the victory had reached Lexington 
in authentic form, the post-office was thronged with 
people, awaiting with intense interest the opening 
of the mail. Soon a letter was handed to the Pev. 
Dr. White, who immediately recognized the well- 
known superscription of his deacon soldier, and ex- 
claimed to the eager and expectant group around him : 
" Now we shall know all the facts." Upon opening 
it the bulletin read thus : 



182 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

" My dear pastor, in my tent last night, after a fa- 
tiguing day's service, I remembered that I had failed 
to send you my contribution for our colored Sunday- 
school. Enclosed you will find my check for that ob- 
ject, which please acknowledge at your earliest conven- 
ience, and oblige yours faithfully, T. J. Jackson." 

This little note is a revelation of character. It is 
remarkable, not so much for what it says as for what 
it does not say. Not a word in it about the battle or 
about himself — he who turned the defeat into victory. 
In that hour of triumph his heart turned away from the 
field to the poor negro children whom he had been ac- 
customed to teach in the Sunday-school in Lexington. 

In his next letter General Jackson writes : " I have 
received a circular to the effect that two professors 
must return to the Institute at the opening of the 
session, the 1st of September, and that if that number 
do not consent to return, the Board of Visitors will 
designate two ; and if they decline, their seats will 
thereby be declared vacant, and the board would fill 
them. I declined returning. How would j'ou like 
going back to Lexington in September, and staying 
there for the remainder of the war ? . . . I am glad 
that the battle [First Manassas] was fought on your 
birthday, so you can never tell me any more that I 
forget your birthday. See if I don't always remem- 
ber it, though I do not my own. If General Lee re- 
mains in the Northwest, I would like to go there and 
give my feeble aid, as an humble instrument in the 
hand of Providence in retrieving the downtrodden 
loyalty of that part of my native State. But I desire 
to be wherever those over me may decide, and I am 



NEVER ABSENT FROM DUTY. 183 

content here. The success of our cause is the earthly 
object near my heart ; and, if I know myself, all I am 
and have is at the service of my country." About 
this time he wrote to his friend, Colonel Bennett, First 
Auditor of the Commonwealth : 

" My hopes for our section of the State have greatly 
brightened since General Lee has gone there. Some- 
thing brilliant may be expected in that region. 
Should you ever have occasion to ask for a brigade 
from this army for the Northwest, I hope mine will 
be the one selected. This of course is confidential, as 
it is my duty to serve wherever I may be placed, and 
I desire to be always where most needed. But it is 
natural for one's affections to turn to the home of his 
boyhood and family." 

August 17th he writes to his wife : 

..." You want to know whether I could get a fur- 
lough. My darling, I can't be absent from my com- 
mand, as my attention is necessary in preparing my 
troops for hard fighting should it be required ; and as 
my officers and soldiers are not permitted to go and 
see their wives and families, I ought not to see my 
esposita, as it might make the troops feel that they 
were badly treated, and that I consult my own pleas- 
ure and comfort regardless of theirs : so you had 
better stay at Cottage Home for the present, as I do 
not know how long I shall remam here." 

From the time he entered the army at the begin- 
ning of the war he never asked or received a fur- 



184 LIFE OF GE.VERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

lough, was never absent from duty for a single day, 
whether sick or well, and never slept one night out- 
side the lines of his own command. 

August 22d he writes : " Don't you wish your 
esjposo would get sick, and have to get a sick leave 
and go home, so tbat you couldn't envy sister Sue ? 
Sickness may compel me for a time to retire from 
camp, but, through tbe blessing of God, I have been 
able to continue in command of my brigade. . . . 
Still much remains undone that I desire to see effected. 
But in a short time I hope to be more instrumental in 
serving my country. Every officer and soldier who is 
able to do duty ought to be busily engaged in mil- 
itary preparation by hard drilling, in order that, 
through the blessing of God, we ma}' be victorious in 
the battles which in His all-wise providence may await 
us. I wish my darling could be with me now and 
enjoy the sweet music of the brass band of the Fifth 
Kegiment. It is an excellent band." 



"O' 



He delighted in listening to music, both instrumental 
and vocal, but he had so little talent for it that it was 
with difficulty he could distinguish tunes. When he 
learned that the tune of " Dixie " had been adopted by 
the Confederates as a national air, he felt that he oug:ht 
to be able to know it when he heard it, so during the 
first visit I paid him in camp he requested me to sing 
the air to him until he could impress it upon his mem- 
ory, so as to be able to recognize it. It was a tedious 
service, and became so perfectly ridiculous from his 
oft-repeated command of '"again" and "again" that 
it finally ended in hearty laughter on both sides. 



AT FAIRFAX COURTHOUSE. 185 

In his letter he continues : 

" Don't put any faith in the assertion that there 
will be no more fighting till October. It may not be 
till then ; and God grant that, if consistent with His 
will, it may never be. Surely, I desire no more, if our 
country's independence can be secured without it. As 
I said before leaving my darling, so say I now, that if 
I fight for my country, it is from a sense of duty — 
a hope that through the blessing of Providence I 
may be enabled to serve her, and not merely because 
I prefer the strife of battle to the peaceful enjoyments 
of home. . . . Yesterday the enemy drove in our pick- 
ets, and General Longstreet sent me a request to move 
forward with my brigade, and the consequence was 
that after advancing bej'ond Fairfax Court-House six 
miles it turned out that the enem}' did not intend to 
attack, and I had a ride of twelve miles for nothing; 
and my wounded finger suffered from it, but I trust, 
with the blessing of an ever-kind Providence, it will 
soon be well. I meet with a number of old army 
friends and some of my classmates, which is quite a 
pleasure. The country about Fairfax Court House is 
beautiful. As I came in sight of the place, the sun 
was near setting, and with its mellowed light greatly 
contributed to beautify the scenery. I am writing 
under a Sibley tent, which is of a conical form, so 
constructed as to allow fire to be used, having an 
opening at the top for the escape of smoke; though 
as yet I have had my fires in the house. The weather 
is quite cool at night. What do you think? This 
morning I had a kind of longing to see our lot — not 
our house, for I did not want to enter its desolate 



186 I'IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

chambers, as it would be too sad not to find my little 
sunshine there." 



From Camp Harman, near Manassas, he wrote : 

" Yesterday I received two letters from one little 
jewel of mine at Cottage Home, and I am just going 
to read them over and over again and answer. First, 
in reference to coming to see your exposo, what would 
you do for privacy in camp I I tell you there are 
more inconveniences attending camp life for a lady 
than little pet is aware of; and worst of all is the 
danger you might encounter in such a trip, as the cars 
are so crowded with soldiers. But I would dearly 
love to have my darling Jiere at this time, and think I 
might probably be able to get a room for you with a 
kind family in whose yard I have my tent. The 
family is exceedingly obliging, and we could have de- 
lightful times together, as I have to stay about quar- 
ters on account of m}' wounded finger. However, 
through the blessing of an ever-kind Providence, it is 
now much improved. Should there be a good escort 
coming on and returning, little one can come ; but you 
must not spare any expense in making your trip com- 
fortable. You must hire a carriage whenever you 
haven't a safe and good conveyance, in the event of 
your coming. Last Sabbath Dr. Pendleton preached 
at my headquarters in the morning, and Rev. Peyton 
Harrison preached in the evening. ... If the war is 
carried on with vigor, I think tliat. under the blessing 
of God, it will not last long, though we may frequently 
have little local troubles along the frontier. ... At 
present it would be improper for me to be absent 



PERMISSION TO PAY HIM A VISIT. 187 

from my brigade a single day, but just as soon as duty 
will permit I hope to see my sunshin}' face. The rea- 
son of my changing my advice about your coming was 
probably in consequence of orders respecting a march. 
Within the last three weeks I have had to mai'ch otf 
several times, but in each case I have been privileged 
to return to my present encampment, where I desire 
to stay as long as I am to remain inactive, for it is the 
best encampment I have had. We are blessed with 
excellent water and a good drill-ground. Little one 
can come on with the first good o))portunity, if she is 
willing to bear the unexpected occurrences of war. I 
know not one day what will take place thp next, but I 
do know that I am your doting esposo." 

It was my good fortune to find an escort to the army, 
and I joyfully set out, in compliance with my husband's 
somewhat doubtful permission, to pay him a visit. But 
he was not mistaken in apprehending the difficulties I 
should encounter, as will be seen by my experience in 
making this journey through a beleaguered country. We 
reached Richmond safely and without much discomfort, 
but no one was permitted to leave without a passport, 
which the government was exceedingly strict in grant- 
ing to men unless they were engaged in the service of the 
army or were going into it. Unfortunately, my young 
man did not come under either head (although he was 
going upon an inspecting tour with a view to finding 
some position among his friends), so he was refused a 
passport ! Like most of the Southern ladies in ante- 
helium times, I was unaccustomed to travelling alone, 
and my husband was much opposed to my doing so. 
However, after coming so near to him (and yet so far !) 



188 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

I could not give up this long-coveted opportunity of 
seeing him, and I determined to venture on my way 
alone. So after telegraphing him to meet me at Ma- 
nassas, I started with my passport as bravely as I 
could, yet filled with apprehension — the cars being 
crowded with soldiers, and scarcely a woman to be 
seen. An hour or two after leaving Eichmond, what 
was my joy and relief to see a friend from Charlotte, 
North Carolina, passing through the car! I sprang 
from my seat and rushed after him, and from that 
moment my mind was at ease, for Captain J. Harvey 
"White (a gallant officer, who afterwards fell in defence 
of his country) verified in my case the old proverb, " A 
friend in need is a friend indeed." My husband failed 
to receive my telegram in time to meet me at Manas- 
sas, and, finding no accommodation there for a lady, 
Captain White was unwiUing to leave me without pro- 
tection, and advised me to go on with him to Fairfax 
Station, thinking that point was still nearer to General 
Jackson's headquarters. However, my husband did 
arrive at Manassas very soon after we passed on, and it 
was then too late, and the distance too great for him 
to follow us that night. Fairfax Station we found 
converted into a vast military camp, the place teem- 
ing with soldiers, and the only house visible from the 
depot being used as a hospital. Not a place to accom- 
modate a lady was to be found, so I was compelled to 
spend the night in the car in which I came up, the 
train remaining stationary there until the next morn- 
ing. One other female, a plain, good woman, who was 
in search of a sick relative among the soldiers, was of 
the party, and Captain White, our kind protector. A 
lady seemed to be a great curiosity to the soldiers, 



MEETING AFTER FIVE MONTHS' SEPARATION. 189 

scores of whom filed through the car to take a look, 
until the annoyance became so great that Captain 
White locked the doors. The next morning was the 
Sabbath, and as Captain White was hastening to a 
sick brother, he was compelled to go on his mission, 
but he first procured for me a small room, which was 
vacated for a few hours just for my accommodation, in 
the house that was used as a hospital. There was no 
lock on the door, and the tramp of men's feet, as they 
passed continually to and fro and threatened entrance, 
was not conducive to a peaceful frame of mind ; and 
the outlook was still more dismal, the one small win- 
dow in the room revealing the spectacle of a number 
of soldiers in the yard, busily engaged in maJcing cojjins 
for their dead comrades ! I was all alone, and had 
nothing to read, so it can be imagined that the few 
anxious and dreary hours spent in that little place of 
horrors seemed an age, and my relief and happi-r 
ness were truly inexpressible when the brightest vision 
that could be to me on earth appeared in the person of 
my dear husband, whom I had not seen for five months. 
He drove up in an ambulance, and, taking me in, wq 
were speedilj'^ driven to his headquarters. Arrived 
there, we found his whole brigade assembled for di- 
vine worship, and the venerable Bishop Johns was just 
about to begin service in a small farm-house on the 
grounds. A delay was made in order to give us time 
to get into the house and be seated ; and all the staff- 
oflicers, and it seemed to me a host of others, came 
forward to welcome their general's wife, much to my 
embarrassment, for I felt most unpresentable after my 
experience of the preceding night. 

The bishop conducted a delightful service in the 



190 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

porch of tlie liouse, and the sokliers swarmed around 
him hke bees, standing and sitting in the grassy yard. 
It was an interesting and imposing scene. The bri- 
gade was encamped on a beautiful hill near Cen- 
treville, and General Jackson's tent was in the yard 
of the farm - house at which he secured lodging dur- 
ing ray visit. It was a grand spectacle to view 
from the crest of the hill the encampment of that 
splendid Stonewall Brigade, especially at night, when 
the camp-fires were lighted. I met there for the first 
time General Joseph E. Johnston, and was much 
impressed with his soldierly appearance and ])ol- 
ished manners. Indeed, the officers and soldiei"s gen- 
erally made the impression of fine specimens of the 
Southern gentleman, and the grand review of the 
whole of General Johnston's command was the most 
imposing military display that I had ever witnessed. 
General Jackson was justly proud of his brigade, and 
their aifection for him was beautiful to behold. The^'^ 
all felt so inspirited by the great victory they had just 
gained, and their general's part in it was rehearsed 
with pride by every one who called upon his wife, 
while he, with his characteristic modesty, gave all the 
credit to his noble men. 

He took me over the battle-field of Manassas. There 
was nothing remarkable about the ground, which was 
somewhat undulating, with many open spaces and 
pine-trees. Bull Bun is a small, insignificant sti'eam. 
General Pendleton accompanied us in the ambulance, 
and both officers explained the different positions and 
movements of the two armies, and talked the battle 
over in a very interesting manner. Much of the (Uhris 
of the conflict still remained : the old Henry house 



VISIT TO THE BATTLE-FIELD. 191 

was riddled with shot and shell; the cai'casses of the 
horses, and even some of the bones of the poor human 
victims, were to be seen. It was difficult to realize 
that these now silent plains had so recently been the 
scene of a great battle, and that here the Keaper 
Death had gathered such a harvest of precious lives, 
many of whom were the very flower of our Southern 
youth and manhood. 

All was quiet in the army during my visit, and al- 
though my husband was unremitting in his duties to 
his command, yet he had sufficient leisure to devote 
to my pleasure to make the time pass most delight- 
fully. AVe had a nice room in a kind, obliging fam- 
ily named Utterbach, and I took my meals with him 
and his staff at their mess-table under the trees. The 
fare was plain, but, with the exception of the absence 
of milk, it was abundant and substantial. His staff- 
officers were all most agreeable and intelligent gentle- 
men. His cook at that time was a very black negro, 
a hired man named George, who so felt the importance 
of his position as the head of the culinary department 
at headquarters that his boast was : " I outranks all 
de niggers in dis army !" Every moment of the time 
I was privileged to remain was full of content and en- 
joyment, and that camp life had a charm for me that 
I never would have broken myself. But all things 
have to come to an end in this fleeting world, and ray 
delightful visit shared this fate all too soon — ^the army 
being ordered to change its location in less than a fort- 
night after my arrival — and I was sent back sorrow- 
fully to North Carolina. 

My visit was made in September, and General Jack- 
son's next letter was written the 24th of that month : 



192 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

" I ara going to write a letter to my darling pet ei^po- 
sita, who paid me such a sweet visit, and whose dear 
face I can still see, though she is 'way down in the 
Old North State. If my darling were here, I know 
she would enjoy General Jones's band, which plays 
very sweetly. We are still at the same encampment 
as when you left, and I have the promise of three 
more wall tents. Yesterday Kev. Dr. William Brown 
visited Munson's Hill, and took a peep at the Yankees. 
. . . The Board of Visitors of the Institute met in Rich- 
mond, and decided if the professors did not return 
they would fill their places, superintendents and all. 
Suppose they ask you to go back. Are you going to 
do so, or will you let them fill your chair ? Colonel 
Echols returned this morning, but does not bring, to 
our finite minds, very good news. General Floyd was 
only about thirty miles west of Lewisburg, and General 
Wise was fifteen miles in advance of him. General Lee, 
with four regiments, had gone on to General Wise." 

" l^Ionday morning. This is a beautiful and lovely 
morning — beautiful emblem of the morning of eter- 
nity in heaven. I greatly enjoy it after our cold, 
chilly weather, which has made me feel doubtful of 
my capacity, humanly speaking, to endure the cam- 
paign, should we remain long in tents. But God, our 
God, does, and will do, all things well ; and if it is His 
pleasure that I should remain in the field. He will give 
me the ability to endure all its fatigues. I hope my 
little sunshiny face is as bright as this lovel;- day. 
Yesterday I iieard a good sermon from tlie chaplain 
of the Second Regiment, and at night I went over to 
Colonel Garland's regiment of Longstreet's Brigade, 



SEEMON OF DR. DABNEY. 193 

and heard an excellent sermon from the Eev. Mr. 
Granberry, of the Methodist ciiurch, of whom you 
may have heard me speak in times past." . . . 

" 2C)th. I did not have room enough in my last let- 
ter, nor have I time this morning, to write as much as 
I desired about Dr. Dabney's sermon yesterday. His 
text was from Acts, seventh chapter and fifth verse. 
He stated that the word God being in italics indicated 
that it was not in the original, and he thought it would 
have been better not to have been in the translation. 
It would then have read : ' Calling upon and saying, 
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' He spoke of Stephen, 
the first martyr under the new dispensation, like Abel, 
the first under the old, dying by the hand of violence, 
and then drew a graphic picture of his probablj^ broken 
limbs, mangled flesh and features, conspiring to height- 
en his agonizing sufferings. But in the midst of this 
intense pain, God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, 
permitted him to see the heavens opened, so that he 
might behold the glory of God, and Jesus, of whom 
he was speaking, standing on the right hand of God. 
Was not such a heavenly vision enough to make him 
forgetful of his sufferings? He beautifully and forci- 
bly described the death of the righteous, and as forci- 
bly that of the wicked. . . . 

" Strangers as well as Lexington friends are very 
kind to me. I think about eight days since a gentle- 
man sent me a half -barrel of tomatoes, bread, etc., 
and I received a letter, I am inclined to think from 
the same, desiring directions how to send a second 
supply. I received from Colonel Ruff a box of beau- 
tifully packed and delicately flavored plums ; also a 
13 



194 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

". bottle of blackberry vinegar from the Misses B . 

I What I need is a more grateful heart to the ' Giver of 
ievery good and perfect gift.' " 

" Camp near Fairfax Court-House, Oct. 1st. 
" Yesterday I rode down to the station, and while 
there President Davis, very unexpectedly to me, ar- 
rived in a single car ; the remaining part of the train, 
I suppose, stopped at the Junction to unload. He 
looked quite thin. His reception was a hearty cheer 
from the troops. He took his seat in an ambulance- 
like carriage, and as he passed on his way to the Court- 
House the air rang with the soldiers' welcoming cheers. 
He was soon met by a troop of horse, and a horse for 
himself. Leaving his carriage and mounting his horse, 
he proceeded on his way, escorted by the cavalry, 
about four thousand of the First Corps (General 
Beauregard). The troops belonged to Generals Long- 
street, D. R. Jones, and Philip St. George Cocke. It 
was quite an imposing pageant." . . . 

" Yesterday I saw President Davis review. He 
took up his quarters with General Beauregard, where, 
in company with Colonels Preston, Harmon, and Ech- 
ols, I called upon him this morning at about half-past 
ten o'clock. He looks thin, but does not seem to be 
as feeble as yesterday. His voice and manners are 
very mild. I saw no exhibition of that fire which I 
had supposed him to possess. The President intro- 
duced the subject of the condition of my section of the 
State, but did not even so much as intimate that he 
designed sending me there. I told him, when he 
spoke of m}^ native region, that I felt a very deep in- 



LETTERS TO HIS WIFE. I95 

terest in it. He spoke hopefully of that section, and 
highly of General Lee." 

" October 14th. I am going to write a letter to the 
very sweetest little woman I know, the only sweet- 
heart I have ; can you guess who she is ? I tell you, 
I would like to see my sunshine, even this brightest 
of days. My finger has been healed over for some 
time, and I am blest by an ever -kind Providence 
with the use of it, though it is still partially stiff. I 
hope, however, in the course of time, that I shall be 
again blest with its perfect use. ... If I get into 
winter -quarters, will little ex -Anna Morrison come 
and keep house for me, and stay with me till tlie open- 
ing of the carajmign of 1 862 ? Now, remember, I don't 
want to change housekeepers. I want the same one 
all the time. I am very thankful to that God who 
withholds no good thing from me (though I am so / 
utterly unworthy and ungrateful) for making me a( 
major-general in the Provisional Army of the Confed-y 
erate States. The commission dates from the 7th 01 
October." . . . 

" October 15th. The enemy are gradually approach- 
ing us." 

" Centreville, Oct. 21st. 
" For several days your esposo has been here, and 
has an extra nice room, the parlor of a Mr. Grigsby, 
who has promised that he will also let me have another 
room for my chamber, and then I can use the parlor 
for my office. He has very kindly offered me the use 
of his library. The walls of his parlor are hung with 
pictures and paintings, including large portraits on 



196 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

opposite sides, I suppose of the esposo and esposa. The 
carpet has been removed, but an abundance of seats 
have been left, two settees among them. Mr. Grigsby 
is apparently a man of much character, and I am very 
much pleased with him. His wife is delicate, and two 
of his sons have typhoid fever, but are past the crit- 
ical stage of the disease. He has not yet consented 
to my staff moving into the house, probably for fear 
of disturbing the sick. Colonel Jones has resigned 
and gone home, and Mr. Marshall went with him. 
They are both nice gentlemen." 

" Centreville, Oct. 22d. 
..." I am going to tell you just where your esposo 
is living for the present. Starting from Mr. Utter- 
bach's on the Warrenton road towards the battle- 
ground of Manassas, a street turns off to the right 
from the Warrenton I'oad. Following the street 
about one hundred yards brings you to a large stone 
house, with four chimnej'S, on the right-hand side of 
the road. Passing up a flight of steps of nearly eight 
feet brings you into the porch, after crossing which 
you enter a hall about ten feet wide, and you have 
only to come into the first door on your right if you 
wish to see your husband, seated on the left of a 
hickory fire, on the opposite side of the room, writ- 
ing to his sweetheart, or to his esposita, wJiichever 
you may choose to call her. Looking around the 
room, you will see upon the mantel a statuette of a 
mother with a child in her arms, an oil painting of 
a beautiful boy, a globe lamp, two candelabra, and 
two vases. Above the mantel are two rose pictures. 
On either side of tlie fireplace is a window, and on 



BEFORE HIS HICKORY FIRE. I97 

the left of tbe fire are a pair of bellows and a large 
shovel. On the right are a pair of tongs, and a hand- 
some feather broom for your esjMso to sweep the 
hearth with. So far I have described only the south- 
ern wall. Turning j'^our eyes to the right, you will 
see two windows on the western wall, looking 
towards the battle-ground of the 21st July. On the 
left end of this wall hangs the celebrated oil paint- 
ing, ' Beatrice Cenci.' Between the windows is a 
large poi'trait (as I suppose) of Mrs. Grigsb3^ On 
the right of the right-hand window is a landscape 
painting. Upon the northern wall to the left of the 
door is a picture, ' The Evening Prayer,' with the in- 
vocation, 'Defend us from all perils and dangers of 
the night.' Near this hangs a thermometer. On 
the right of the door are two other works of art, and 
between them is the library desk, which is kindly 
placed at my disposal. Upon the eastern wall, left 
end, is a picture of 'Holyrood.' Near it, but on the 
right, is a large portrait of Mr. Grigsby. About 
the centre of the wall is a large mirror — on its right 
is a picture called ' Innocence ' — and /ie)v is your 
loving husband ! 

..." Our success at Leesburg reflected credit upon 
Colonel Evans and his heroic brigade. 

..." I have written to Colonel Preston, of Lex- 
ington, to join me. My desire is to get a staff spe- 
cially qualified for their duties, and that will render 
the greatest possible amount of service to their 
country. Last night, Drs. White and McFarland 
reached here and are staying with me. They are 
just from Synod at Petersburg, and give a very 
gratifying account of things there. Dr. McFarland 



198 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

is a noble specimen of character." This was the Rev. 
Dr. Francis McFarland. Dr. White (General Jack- 
son's pastor) had come at his invitation to preach 
to his command. Dr. Dabney thus describes the 
visit : 

"They arrived at nightfall, and found the com- 
mander-in-chief on the spot, communicating in person 
some important orders. General Jackson merely 
paused to give them the most huri-ied salutation con- 
sistent with respect, and without a moment's dallying 
passed on to execute his duties. After a length of 
time he returned, all the work of the evening com- 
pleted, and renewed his welcome with a beaming 
face and warm abandon of manner, heaping upon 
them affectionate attentions, and inquiring after all 
their households. Dr. White spent five da^'s and 
nights with him, preaching daily. In the general's 
quarters he found his morning and evening worship 
as regularly held as it had been at home. Jackson 
modestly proposed to his pastor to lead in this 
worship, which he did until the last evening of his 
sta}' ; when, to the usual request of prayers, he 
answered : ' General, you have often pra3-ed with and 
for me at home; be so kind as to do so to-night.' 
Without a word of objection, Jackson took the sacred 
volume, and read and prayed. ' And never while life 
lasts,' said the pastor, ' can I forget that prayer. He 
thanked God for sending me to visit the army, and 
prayed that He would own and bless my ministra- 
tions, both to officers and privates, so that many 
souls might be saved. lie gave thanks for what it 
had pleased God to do for the church in Lexington, 



HIS FERVOR L\ PRAYER. I99 

"to which both of us belong" — specially for the re- 
vivals He had mercifully granted to that church, 
and for the many preachers of the Gospel sent forth 
from it. He then prayed for the pastor, and every 
member of his famil}', for the ruling elders, the 
deacons, and the private members of the church, 
such as were at home, and especially such as then 
belonged to the army. He then pleaded Avith such 
tenderness and fervor that God would baptize the 
whole army with His holy spirit, that my own hard 
heart was melted into penitence, gratitude, and praise. 
When we had risen from our ki\ees-4'6 stood before 
his camp fire with that calm dignity of mien and 
tender expression of countenance for which he was 
so remarkable, and said: "Doctor, I would be glad 
to learn more fully than I have yet done what your 
views are of the prayer of faith V ' A conversation 
then commenced, which was continued long after the 
hour of midnight, in which, it is candidly confessed, 
the pastor received more instruction than he im- 
parted." 

Dr. "White was with him when he received his 
order to go to his new command of the Valley Dis- 
trict, and after reading it he handed it to his pastor, 
saying: "Such a degree of public confidence and re- 
spect as puts it in one's power to serve his country 
should be accepted and prized ; but, apart from that, 
promotion among men is only a temptation and a 
trouble. Had this communication not come as an 
order, I should instantly have declined it, and con- 
tinued in command of my brave old brigade." 

To his wife he wrote on the 4th of November : 



200 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

"This morning I received orders to proceed to 
Winchester. I am assigned to the command of the 
militar}' district of the Northern frontier, between 
the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Mountains, and I 
hope to have my little dove with me this winter. 
How do you like the programme i I trust I may be 
able to send for you after I get settled. I don't ex- 
pect much sleep to-night, as my desire is to travel 
all night, if necessary, for the purpose of reaching 
Winchester before day to-morrow. My trust is in 
God for the defence of that country [the A'alle^']. 
I shall have great labor to perform, but, through the 
blessing of our ever-kind Heavenly Father, I trust 
that He will enable me to accomplish it. Colonel 
Preston and Sandy Pendleton go with me." 

One great trial to him in going to this new field 
of action was that he was to leave beliind his "brave 
old Brigade," as they were not included in the order. 
An article in the Richmond Disjyatch of that date 
thus describes the separation : 

" The writer never expects to witness a more touch- 
ing scene. Drawn up in close columns stood the sub- 
altern officers and men who had rushed with loud 
cheers into the very thickest of the bloody 21st of 
July day, and opposed with the combined courage 
and discipline of veterans the advance of the con- 
fident foe — the men who were all Virginia troops, and 
from that West Augusta to which Washington had 
looked in olden days as the last refuge of indepen- 
dence. Proudly had they vindicated the historic 
fame of their section at Manassas, and now they had 



PARTING FROM HIS OLD BRIGADE. 201 

again formed to say ' good-by ' to their loved leader. 
The glow which brightened their faces and lit up their 
flashing eyes in the fire of battle was gone. They 
looked like children separating from a father; and 
striking indeed to those who saw those brave men in 
the battle was the contrast in their bearing then and 
to-day. Yu'ginia has reason to be proud of all her 
troops, but to Jackson's brigade she owes her largest 
debt. The api>earance of General Jackson was re- 
ceived with not the slightest applause. The officers 
and men he commanded knew for what purpose they 
had been formed, and felt not like cheering. General 
Jackson briefly and feelingly addressed his assembled 
comrades as follows : ' Officers and soldiers of the 
First Brigade, I am not here to make a speech, but 
simply to say farewell. I first met you at Harper's 
Ferry in the commencement of this war, and I can- 
not take leave of you without giving expression to 
my admiration of yom' conduct from that day to this, 
whether on the march, the bivouac, the tented field, 
or on the bloody plains of Manassas, where you gained 
the well-deserved reputation of having decided the 
fate of the battle. Throughout the broad extent of 
country over which you have marched, by your re- 
spect for the rights and property of citizens, you have 
shown that you were soldiers, not only to defend, but 
able and willing both to defend and protect. You 
have already gained a brilliant and deservedly high 
reputation throughout the army and the whole Con- 
federacy, and I trust, in the future, by your own 
deeds on the field and by the assistance of the same 
kind Providence who has heretofore favored our 
cause, that you will gain more victories and add 



202 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

additional lustre to the reputation you now enjoy. 
You have already gained a proud position in the 
history of this our second war of independence. I 
shall look with great anxiety to your future move- 
ments, and I trust whenever I shall hear of the First 
Brigade on the field of battle it will be of still nobler 
deeds achieved and higher reputation won.' 

" Here General Jackson, rising in his stirrups, and 
casting his bridle reins upon the neck of his steed, 
with an emphasis which seemed to thrill throughout 
the brigade, said : ' In the Army of the Shenandoah 
you were the First brigade; in the Army of the 
Potomac you were the First brigade; in the Second 
Corps of the army you were the First brigade ; you 
are the First brigade in the affections of your general ; 
and I hope by your future deeds and bearing that 
you will be handed down to posterity as the First 
brigade in this our second War of Independence. 
Farewell!' For a moment there was a pause, and 
then three loud and prolonged clieers rent the air. 
It was followed by three and three more. Unable to 
stand such evidence of affection any longer, General 
Jackson waved farewell and galloped away. The 
different regiments returned slowly to their quarters, 
and thus ended a scene not often witnessed, and 
which makes upon spectators impressions not easily 
eradicated." 



CHAPTER XII. 

WINCHESTER AND ROMNEY EXPEDITION— 1861-1862. 

We will now follow General Jackson to Winchester, 
which he made his headquarters during the winter of 
1861-1862. He had been ordered to the command of 
the Valley District, without troops being assigned to 
hiin ; having, as we have seen, to leave behind him 
his chief reliance in battle, his invincible Stonewall 
Brigade. He found at Winchester only a small force, 
consisting of a part of three brigades of militia and a 
few companies of cavalry, all of which were imper- 
fectly organized and poorly equipped, and with but 
little training or experience. He lost no time in call- 
ing out all the remaining militia of the district, and 
in a few weeks liis little army was increased to about 
three thousand men. To the instruction and drillino' 
of these new recruits he devoted himself with the 
utmost energy ; and, already forming plans for a vig- 
orous forward movement, he sent a petition to the 
government for reinforcements. In response to this 
request he had the great gratification of having his 
own Stonewall Brigade sent to him, about the middle 
of November, together with the Rockbridge Battery, 
now commanded by Captain McLaughlin. 

The attachment which General Jackson felt for the 
men that had been trained under him, and his pride 
in them, were fully reciprocated ; as one of them ex- 



204 LIFE OF GEKERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

pressed it : " Wherever the voice of our brave and 
beloved general is heard, we are ready to follow. I 
have read of the devotion of soldiers to their com- 
manders, but history contains no parallel case of devo- 
tion and affection equal to that of the Stonewall Bri- 
gade for Major-General Jackson. We do not look upon 
him merely as our commander — do not regard him as 
a severe disciplinarian, as a politician, as a man seek- 
ing popularity — but as a Christian ; a brave man who 
appreciates the condition of a common soldier ; as a 
fatherly protector ; as one who endures all hardships 
in common with his followers ; who never commands 
others to face danger without putting himself in the 
van. The confidence and esteem of the soldiers are 
always made known in exulting shouts whenever he 
makes his appearance." 

General Jackson was so captivated with the Valley 
of Virginia, the more he saw of it in his campaigns, 
that he used to say that when the war was over he 
wanted to have a home in the Shenandoah ^'"aUey, 
and there indulge his taste for rural pursuits, and en- 
joy that domestic life which was so dear to him. The 
beauty and grandeur of the scenery, with its chains 
of mountains, limpid streams, tine forests, dales, and 
fertile fields, were to him charming beyond descrip- 
tion. The people of the Valley were not unworth}' of 
it. They enjoyed the free and easy lives natural to 
those living in a land of plenty, and dispensed their 
hospitalities with grace and generosity ; but it was in 
adversitj' that their noblest qualities were illustrated. 
Displaying a loyalty that death only could quench — 
patience under hardship and toil; calmness and hero- 
ism amid the storms of war, which destroyed and des- 



LETTERS TO HIS WIFE. 205 

dated their homes and country ; the first to rally to 
the defence of the South, and the last to give it up — 
who can ever do justice to the nobleness and magna- 
nimitj' of those people of the Valley ? But it seems 
unfair not to take in the whole of Virginia in this 
tribute, for it was the universal testimony of the Con- 
federate soldiers, from the beginning to the end of 
the war, that the Virginians, as long as they had a 
crust of bread, would share it with the soldiers from 
other States, and that the noble women of ViT-ginia 
never wearied in their ministrations to their necessi- 
ties, esjiecially in nursing the sick and wounded. '^ 

On the 9th of November General Jackson wrote, 
from Winchester to his wife: ... "I trust that myj 
darling little wife feels more gratitude to our kind) 
Heavenly Father than pride or elation at my promo-j 
tion. Continue to pray for me, that I may live to^ 
glorify God more and more, by serving Him and our 
country. ... If j'ou were only here, you would have 
a ver}' nice house, the description of which I will post- 
pone until after answering your letters ; and if there 
isn't room, it will be deferred for the next letter, as it 
will take nearly a whole letter to tell you how very 
nice it is. And if your husband stays here this win- 
ter, he hopes to send one of his aides for one little 
someljody. You know very well who I mean by 
' httle somebody.' 

"And now for an answer to your questions; and 
without stating your questions, I will answer them. 
My command is enlarged, and embraces the Valley 
District, and the troops of this district constitute the 
Army of the Valley ; but my command is not alto- 



206 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gether independent, as it is embraced in the Depart- 
ment of Northern Virginia, of which General John- 
ston has the command. There are three armies in this 
department — one under General Beauregard, another 
under General Holmes, and the third under my com- 
mand. My headquarters are for the present at Win- 
chester. A major-general's rank is inferior to that of 
a full general. The rank of major-general does not 
appear to be recognized by the laws of the Confeder- 
ate States, so far as I have seen ; but there may be 
some law embraced in the Army Eegulations which I 
have not seen. At all events, the President appoints 
them in the Provisional Army of the Confederate 
States, and these appointments are onlv for the war. 
As the regulations of the army of the Confederate 
States do not require the rank of Tnajor-general, there 
is no pay and no stafif appointed for it ; but I ex- 
pect to have two aides, and at least an adjutant- 
general. I am making up my staff slowly, in conse- 
quence of desiring to secure a good one, and some of 
them being at a distance. My promotion jilaces me 
between a brigadier and a full general ; but I don't 
think that either a major-general or a full general 
will be paid any more than $301 per month (the pay 
of a brigadier), but as commander of an army my 

' additional pay is $100, making in all S-101 per month. 

', I send you a check for $1000, which I wish invested 
in Confederate bonds, as I think, as far as possible, 
persons should take Confederate bonds, so as to re- 
lieve the government from any pecuniary pressure. 
You had better not sell your coupons from the bonds, 
as I understand they are paid in gold, but let the 
Confederacy keej) tlie gold. Citizens should not re- 



LOOKING AFTER HIS SERVANTS. 207 

ceive a cent of gold from the government when it is 
so scarce. The only objection to parting with your 
coupons is, that, if they are payable in gold, it will be 
taking just so much out of the Treasury, when it needs 
all it has. Give my love and congratulations to Will- 
iam [his brother-in-law. Major W. W. Morrison] upon 
his promotion. I saw Captain Barringer at Manas- 
sas, and his regiment of cavalry presented a fine ap- 
peai'ance. I send you a letter announcing that Amy 
[his faithful old servant] has gone to a better world. 
The tears came to my eyes more than once while read- 
ing it." 

The following extracts from letters to a gentleman 
in Lexington will show that he took time to attend 
both to the temporal and spiritual interests of his ser- 
vants, even in the midst of absorbing military occu- 
pations : 

" I desire, if practicable, that my boys shall have 
the opportunity of attending the colored Sabbath- 
school in Lexington, if it is still in operation. I am 
glad to hear that they are both well, and I trust, 
through the blessing of an overruling Providence, they 
will serve j^ou faithfully. It is gratifying to know that 
they are in such good hands as yours. . . . Should you 
not need George, please hire him to some suitable 
person, with the condition that, if in or near town, he 
be required to attend Sabbath-school ; and wlierever 
he may be, let him be required to attend church at 
suitable times, as I am very desirous that the spiritual 
interests of my servants shall be attended to. . . . 
I thank you for your kindness in taking such good 



208 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

care of my lot. Any expense that you may incur in 
keeping up fences, etc., please let me know, and I will 
settle it. I did not expect to hear of the grass taking 
so well. Please sell the wheat and deposit the pro- 
ceeds in the Bank of Rockbridge." 



o^ 



The new and enlarged field of labor to which Gen- 
eral Jackson had been promoted required some addi- 
tions to his staff, and in consequence he received many 
applications from persons desiring to secure these po- 
sitions either for themselves or their friends and rela- 
tives. In writing upon this subject he says : 

" My desire is to get a staff specially qualified for 
their specific duties, and that will render the greatest 
possible amount of service to their country." 

In response to another request his reply was: 
" Your letter, and also that of my much-esteemed 

friend, Hon. Mr. in behalf of Mr. , reached 

me to-day ; and I hasten to reply that I have no 
place to which, at present, I can properly assign him. 
J knew Mr. personally, and was favorably im- 
pressed b}' him. But if a person desires office in these 
times, the best thing for him to do is at once to pitch 
into service somewhere, and work with such energy, 
zeal, and success as to impress those around him with 
the conviction that such are his merits he must be 
advanced, or the interest of the public service must 

suffer. If Mr. should mention the subject to 

you again, I think you might not only do him, but the 
country, good service by reading this part of my letter 
to him. My desire is to make merit the basis of my 
recommendations and selections." 



IN WINTER-QUARTERS AT WINCHESTER. 209 

He never appointed a man to a responsible position 
without knowing all about him. He would make 
the most minute inquiries. Was he intelligent i Was 
he faithful? Was he industrious? Did he get up 
early ? This was a great point with him. If a man 
was wanting in any of these qualifications, he would 
reject him, however highly recommended. No feeling 
of personal partialit}', no feeling of friendship, was 
allowed to interfere with his duty. He felt tliat the 
interests at stake were too great to be sacrificed to 
favoritism or friendship. 

To his wife he writes from Winchester, November 
16th: 

" Don't you tremble when you see that you have 
to read such a long letter, for I'm going to write 
it just as full as it can hold. And you wish that I 
could have my headquarters at Mr. Grigsby's 'i I tell 
you this is a much better place for my pet. You can 
have plenty of society of charming ladies here, and 
the Eev. Mr. Graham, our Presbyterian minister, lives 
in the second house from here, his door being only 
about thirty yards from our gate. This house be- 
longs to Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, of the Fourth 
Virginia Volunteers, and has a large yard around it. 
The situation is beautiful. The building is of cottage 
style and contains six rooms. I have two rooms, one 
above the other. Mj' lower room, or office, has a 
matting on the floor, a large fine table, six chairs, and 
a piano. The walls are papered with elegant gilt 
papei*. I don't remember to bave ever seen more 
beautiful papering, and there are five paintings hang- 
ing on the walls. If I only had my little woman 
14 



210 I'IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

here, the room would be set off. The upper room is 
neat, but not a full story, and is, I may say, only re- 
markable for being heated in a peculiar manner, b}'- 
a flue from the office below. Through the blessing of 
our ever-kind Heavenly Father, I am quite comfort- 
able. I have much work to perform, and wouldn't 
have much time to talk to my darling except at night ; 
but then there is so much ])leasant society among 
the ladies here that you could pass your time very 
agreeably. I hope to send for you just as soon as I 
can do so, with the assurance that I am in winter- 
quarters." 

It can readily be imagined with what delight 
General Jackson's domestic plans for the winter were 
hailed by me, and without waiting for the promised 
" aide " to be sent on as my escort, I joined some 
friends who were going to Eichmond, where I spent 
a few days to shop, procure a passport, and to await 
an escort to Winchester. The latter was soon found 
in a kind-hearted but absent-minded old clergyman, 
who occupied himself so assiduously in taking care of 
the little woman he had in charge that he entirely' 
forgot to look after her baggage (a very necessary 
precaution in the upturned and disjointed condition 
in which the country then was), and the result was a 
lost trunk ! We travelled by stage-coach from Stras- 
burg, and were told, before reaching Winchester, that 
General Jackson was not there, having gone with his 
command on an expedition to demolish Dam No. 5 
on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It was there- 
fore with a feeling of sad disappointment and loneli- 
ness that I aliirhted from the stagecoach in front of 



MEETING AT LAST. 211 

Taylor's Hotel at midnight in the early part of dreary, 
cold December, and no husband to meet me with a 
glad welcome. By the dim lamp-light I noticed a 
small group of soldiers standing on the sidewalk, but 
they remained as silent spectators, and my escort led 
me up the long stairway, doubtless feeling disap- 
pointed himself that he still had me on his hands. 
Just before reaching the landing I turned to look 
back, for one figure among that group looked start- 
lingly familiar,, but as he had not come forward, 1 
felt that I must be mistaken. However, my back- 
ward glance did reveal an officer muffled up in a 
military overcoat, and cap drawn down over his eyes, 
following us in rapid pursuit, and by the time we 
were upon the top step a pair of strong arms caught 
me in the rear ; the captive's head was thrown back, 
and she was kissed again and again by her husband, 
before she could realize the delightful surprise he had 
given her. The good old minister chuckled gleefully, 
and was no doubt a sincere sharer in the joy and 
relief experienced by his charge. "When I asked my 
husband why he did not come forward when I got 
out of the coach, he said he wanted to assure himself 
that it was his own wife, as he didn't want to com- 
mit the blunder of kissing anybody else's esposa. He 
had returned but a few hours before to spend the 
Sabbath in Winchester, and with the hope of my 
arrival upon the midnight stage. 

On Monday morning, bright and early, he sent a 
number of telegrams in search of the missing trunk, 
which, by the way, contained some valued treasures, 
and had also, while in Richmond, been replenished 
with numerous new and pretty additions to its ward- 



212 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

robe, just for that winter in Winchester ; and in those 
war times of blockade and scarcity, such things were 
doubly prized. But the telegraph failed to bring any 
tidings of the trunk, and forthwith the aide who was 
to have been my escort was despatclied to Eichmond 
in pursuit of it. In a few days he returned with the 
discouraging report that he was unsuccessful in every 
efifort to trace the lost piece of baggage. So, giving 
it up in despair, I addressed myself to the task of 
sup})lying the necessities of the situation. It was, of 
course, impossible to replace the beautiful Richmond 
outfit ; but notwithstanding this great loss, my happi- 
ness was unalloyed so long as I was privileged to be 
with my husband and the charming friends I found 
in Winchester. However, after the lapse of three 
whole weeks, what was my surprise one day to see 
my long-lost trunk safely placed within my room, and 
its recovery was all the more gratifying because my 
good husband, during all those weeks, had not ceased 
to continue the seai'cli for it, and his letters to officials 
and friends had proved instrumental in finding the 
trunk securely locked up in Richmond as lost bag- 
gage ! It was speedily sent on by express, the con- 
tents found to be intact, and were all the more 
appreciated on account of the deprivation endured by 
their temporary loss. 

My husband was fortunate enough to engage board 
for us both with the Rev. J. R. Graham, in whose 
delightful Christian family we spent as happy a win- 
ter as ever falls to the lot of mortals on this earth. 
Winchester was rich in happy homes and pleasant 
peojile, in social refinement and elegant hospitality ; 
and the extreme kindness and appreciation shown to 



THE HAPPY HOMES OF WINCHESTER. 213 

General Jackson by all, bound us both to them so 
closely and warmly that ever after that winter he 
called the place our " war home." 

Among the many excellent matrons there were 
two who specially won our hearts — Mrs. Robert Y. 
Conrad and Mrs. Anne Tucker Magill. These ladies 
were conspicuous for their lovely Christian characters 
• — being foremost in all good works, in the hospitals 
ministering to the soldiers— and wherever they went 
their lives were devoted to the relief of suffering and 
to doing good. Both were descended from old Vir- 
ginia families, true specimens of patrician blood. 
Mrs. Conrad, even in the decline of life, retained 
much beauty, of brunette style, and in manner was 
a most gentle and gracious lady. Several of her 
sons were gallant soldiers in the army, and her two 
young daughters inherited their mother's grace and 
beauty. 

Mrs. Magill was of the house of John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, and a sister of Hon. John Randolph Tucker, 
Virginia's honored statesman — a man known not 
only in Virginia, but in all the South, as in the very 
front rank of Congress and of statesmen; and in 
social life a man "of infinite jest," but withal an 
earnest Christian. This family seemed to possess as 
an inheritance the richest vein of humor, in addition 
to high mental endowments. It would be difficult 
to describe the sunshine which irradiated the very 
presence as well as the whole life of Mrs. Magill, 
whom General Jackson designated as " inimitable." 
I once heard the face of a woman, who united the 
rarest beauty to the utmost sweetness of disposition, 
described as "aJoyaJettep-i^o-^aJl-^he-w^ocl^l." This 



214 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

would apply exactly to Mrs. Magill, who was the im- 
personation of love and kindness, and her natural 
buoyancy of temperament was heightened by her 
beautiful Christian faith and trust. In her General 
Jackson found a spirit congenial to his own, and so 
admired her bright and radiant disposition that he 
often said to his wife that when she grew to be an 
old lady, he hoped she would be ''just like Mrs. 
Magill !" She was the mother of my hostess and 
friend, Mrs. Graham, and when I became a member 
of her daughter's family she said slie must adopt me 
as her daughter too, and during all my sojourn she 
hivished upon me the loving attentions of a mother 
to a child. One day in every week our whole house- 
hold dined with hei', and I shall never forget those 
delightful reunions. She was blest with several 
daughters, whose cordial manners and sweet music 
made their home charming to visitors. 

I recall a very amusing scene which occurred in 
Mr. Graham's parlor, showing Mrs. Magill's playful 
humor. A number of visitors, including several 
young officers, were spending the evening, and as 
they were about breaking up, Mrs. Magill and a 
young captain of artillery began to fight a most 
ridiculous battle— the captain seizing a chair as his 
cannon and pointing its back at Mrs. Magill. The 
fun became contagious, and soon everybody in the 
room took sides, drawmg out the chairs as pieces of 
artillery, amid such noise and laughter that General 
Jackson, who was in his room up-stairs, came down 
to see what it was all about. Taking in at a glance 
the broad humor of the occasion, he said, sharply : 
" Captain Marye, when the engagement is over, you wiU 



AN INTERVAL OF REST AND PEACE. 215 

send in an official report." The uproar of this mirth- 
provokiug scene was heard far out into the street, and 
would not have been suspected as coming from a 
preacher's house, and yet, if I mistake not, his rever- 
ence was one of the most furious combatants on the 
side of his mother-in-law ! 

The Winchester ladies were among the most famous 
of Virginia housekeepers, and lived in a great deal of 
old-fashioned elegance and profusion. The old border 
town had not then changed hands with the conflicting 
armies, as it was destined to do so many times during 
the war. Under the rose -colored light in which I 
viewed everything that winter, it seemed to me that 
no people could have been more cultivated, attractive, 
and noble - hearted. The memories of that sojourn 
in our " war home " are among the most precious and 
sacred of my whole life. It was there that I was 
permitted to be the longest time with my husband 
after he entered the army. He was in such fine health 
and spirits that, with the exception of the Romney 
expedition, there was nothing to mar the perfect 
enjoyment of those three blessed months. 

No sooner had General Jackson, with his gallant 
Stonewall Brigade, taken up his headquarters at 
AVinchester, than petitions came pouring in from the 
loyal people along the border counties of Virginia, 
praying for protection, and this he promised them so 
soon as he could get more reinforcements. In the 
small body of cavalry which he found at Winchester, 
a conspicuous officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Turner 
Ashby, whom General Jackson placed in command of 
his cavalry after consolidating all the companies into 
a regiment. At the begiftntng of the war this young 



216 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

soldier raised a company of volunteers, and during 
the summer campaign he had been engaged in the 
first capture of Harper's Ferry, and distinguished 
himself by his gallantry and courage. He was as 
brave and chivalrous a gentleman as ever drew sword, 
and when he received his trust from General Jack- 
son he kept it with unwearied zeal until he fell in 
the cause to which he had given his life. His 
brother. Captain Richard Ashby, whom he had loved 
with unusual tenderness and devotion, and who was his 
equal in courage and heroism, had fallen by the hand 
of the foe, and this terrible stroke inspired Turner 
Ashby with a fearful resolution to avenge his broth- 
er's death. "With his sad, earnest gray ej'es, jet- 
black hair and flowing beard, his lithe and graceful 
form mounted upon a superb steed, he was a typical 
knight of the Golden Horseshoe, and his daring and 
intrepid exploits soon shed a halo of romance around 
his name, and made it one of terror to his enemies. 
The sound of his well-known j-ell and the shout of 
" Ashby !" from his men were the signal for a tre- 
mendous charge that was generally victorious. He 
was an invaluable auxiliaiy to General Jackson in 
guarding the outposts of the army — his coolness, dis- 
cretion, and untiring vigilance being as remarkable 
as his daring and bravery. 

Before proceeding further Avith an account of Gen- 
eral Jackson's movements, a brief glance wiU be given 
at the situation in Korthwestern Virginia. The cam- 
paigns of the Confederates in that region had been at- 
tended with disaster almost from the beginning, which 
had been a source of great grief to General Jackson ; 
and his anxiety to be sent as a defender to the loved 



SITUATION IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 217 

" home of his boyhood and family " has already been 
shown in his letters. General McClellan, crossing the 
Ohio, had attacked a small force under General Rob- 
ert S. Garnett, who was killed in one of the first en- 
gagements of the war. After his death and the de- 
feat of his troops, the Confederate government sent 
out a larger force, under General Robert E. Lee, to 
oppose Rosecrans, who had succeeded McClellan. The 
high reputation of General Lee raised great hopes of 
success ; but owing to the nature of the country, the 
mountains, the condition of the roads, and the superior 
numbers of the enemy, these hopes were doomed to 
disappointment. 

After this second failure of the campaign even in 
hands so competent as General Lee's, that distin- 
guished officer was assigned to a more important 
command, and was succeeded in the Northwestern 
Department by Brigadier-General Loring. Brigadier- 
General Henry R. Jackson and Colonel Edward John- 
son, of this command, had each gallantly repulsed the 
enemy ; but their successes proved to be fruitless on 
account of their forces being too small to hold any 
ground they had gained ; and the enemy having occu- 
pied the counties of Hard}^ and Hampshire, thereby 
threatening the rear of the Confederates, they were 
finally forced to retreat to a position on the Shenan- 
doah Mountain, forty miles to the rear. 

Such was the situation in the Xorthwest when Gen- 
eral Jackson arrived at "Winchester. And so anxious 
was he to engage in the work of protecting his native 
region that he urged the government to let him have 
the troops under Generals Loring and Johnson, and, if 
his request were granted, that there should be no delay 



218 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

in hurrying them at once to him ; and with these rein- 
forcements he proposed to undertake a winter cam- 
paign. He remembered the saying of Napoleon, that 
" an active winter's campaign is less liable to produce 
disease than a sedentaiy life by camp-fires in winter- 
quarters" — and seeing the imminent dangers that 
were threatening the country from dela}^ together 
with the immense resources of the Northern Army, 
he was eager to do all in his power, feeling that 
the issues involved justified him in making the ex- 
periment. The government partly acceded to his 
request, but did not furnish him with all the troops 
he desired, and so restricted him, both in force and 
authority, that it was impossible for him to accom- 
plish all that he hoped and expected. A letter to 
the War Department will show how much he had 
reflected upon this subject, and what bold plans he 
had formed : 

" Headquarteks, Valley District, Nov. 20th, 1861. 

*' Hon. J. P. Benjamin, Secretary of War : 

" SiK, — I hope you will pardon me for requesting 
that at once all the troops under General Loring be 
ordered to this point (Winchester). Deeply impressed 
with the importance of absolute secrecy respecting 
military operations, I have made it a point to say but 
little respecting my proposed movements in the event 
of sufficient reinforcements arriving; but since con- 
versing with Lieutenant - Colonel J. T. L. Preston, 
upon his return from General Loring, and ascertain- 
ing the disposition of the general's forces, I venture 
to respectfully urge that after concentrating all his 
troops here, an attempt should be made to capture 



PLAN OF A WINTER CAMPAIGN. 219 

the Federal forces at Komney.* The attack on 
Eomney would probably induce McClellan to believe 
that the Army of the Potomac had been so weakened 
as to justify him in making an advance on Centre- 
ville ; but should this not induce him to advance, I 
do not beheve anything will during the present 
winter. Should the Army of the Potomac be at- 
tacked, I would be at once prepared to reinforce it 
with my present volunteer force, increased by General 
Loring's. After repulsing the enemy at Manassas, 
let the troops that marched on Romney return to 
the Valley and move rapidly westward to the waters 
of the Monongahela and Little Kanawha. Should 
General Kelly be defeated, and especially should he 
be captured, I believe that by a judicious disposition 
of the militia, a few cavalry, and a small number of 
field-pieces, no additional forces would be required 
for some time in this district. I deem it of great im- 
portance that Northwestern Virginia be occupied by 
Confederate troops this winter. At present it is to 
be presumed that the enemy are not expecting an 
attack there, and the resources of that region neces- 
sary for the subsistence of our troops are in greater 
abundance than in almost any other season of the 
year. Postpone the occupation of that section until 
spring, and we may expect to find the enemy pre- 
pared for us, and the resources to which I have 
referred greatly exhausted. I know that what I 
have proposed will be an arduous undertalving, and 
cannot be accomplished without the sacrifice of much 
personal comfort ; but I feel that the troops will be 

• General Kelly was tlieu at Romney with a force reputed to 
be five thousand men, to cover repairs on the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad. 



220 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

prepared to make this sacrifice when animated by 
the prospect of important results to our cause and 
distinction to themselves. It may be urged against 
this plan that the enemy will advance on Staunton 
and Huntersville. I am well satisfied that such a step 
would but make their own destruction more certain. 
Affain, it mav be said that General Flovd will be cut 
off. To avoid this, if necessary, the general has only 
to fall back towards the Virginia and Tennessee Rail- 
road. When Northwestern Virginia is occupied in 
force, the Kanawha Valley, unless it be the lower 
part of it, must be evacuated b\' the Federal forces, 
or otherwise their safety will be endangered b}*^ forc- 
ing a column aci'oss the Little Kanawha, between 
them and the Ohio River. Admitting that the season 
is too far advanced, or that from other causes all 
cannot be accomphshed that has been named, 3'et 
through the blessing of God, who has thus far so 
wonderfully prospered our cause, much more may be 
expected from General Loring's troops according to 
this programme than can be expected from them 
where they are. If you decide to order them here, I 
trust that, for the purpose of saving time, all the 
infantry, cavalry, and artillery will be directed to 
move immediately upon the reception of the order. 
The enemy, about five thousand strong, have been for 
some time slightly fortifying at Roraney, and have 
completed their telegraph from that place to Green 
Spring Depot. Their forces at and near Williams- 
port are estimated as high as five thousand, but as 
yet I have no reliable information of their strength 
beyond the Potomac. 

" Tour most obedient servant, 

" T. J. Jacksox, Major-General, P. A. C. S." 



GENERAL LEE DOUBTS THE WISDOM OF IT. 221 

General Johnston endorsed this letter as follows : 

" Centreville, Nov. 21st. 
" Respectfully forwarded. I submit that the troops 
under General Loring might render valuable services 
by taking the field with General Jackson, instead of 
going into winter-quartei's, as now proposed. 

" J. E. Johnston, General.'' 

The Secretary of "War, in sending General Jackson's 
letter to General Loring, and expressing concurrence 
in the opinion that it would be the destruction of the 
enemy for him to advance at that season upon Mon- 
terey and Staunton, said : 

" In opposition to all this, we have the views of 
General Lee and yourself impliedly given in the 
recommendation to guard the passes through tlie 
winter. We do not desire, under such a state of 
things, to direct the movement above described, with- 
out leaving you a discretion, and the President wishes 
you to exercise that discretion. If upon full con- 
sideration you think the proposed movement objec- 
tionable and too hazardous, you will decline to make 
it, and so inform the department. If, on the contrary, 
you approve it, then proceed to execute it as promptly 
and secretly as possible, disguising your purpose as 
well as you can, and forwarding to me by express an 
explanation of your proposed action to be communi- 
cated to General Jackson." 

In the meantime, while awaiting the result of this 
decision. General Jackson determined not to remain 



222 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

inactive, and taking the small force then under his 
command, early in December, he went to work to 
destroy Dam No. 5 on the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal, which ran down the Potomac from Cumber- 
land, Maryland, to Washington. This canal was of 
great importance to the enemy in affording them the 
means of transporting their supplies and troops, 
especially since the railroad bridge at Harper's Ferry 
had been burned. As General Banks, with a large 
force, was upon the other side of the Potomac, 
General Jackson despatched his militia to make a 
feint upon Williamsport, while he, with the rest of 
his troops, repaired to the dam, the destruction of 
which was accomplished, but at the expense of great 
personal discomfort and suffering to his men. How- 
ever, they proved themselves true soldiers — many of 
them volunteering to enter the chill waters of the 
Potomac, and working like beavers for four cold winter 
days and still colder nights, waist-deep in water, with 
the Federal cannon-balls booming over their heads ; 
but only one poor fellow lost his life from the guns 
of the enemy. Captain Ilolliday (afterwards an hon- 
ored Governor of Virginia), of the Thirty -third Regi- 
ment, and Captain Robinson, of the Twenty-seventh 
(all Virginia troops), volunteered, with the companies, 
to go into the river and cut out the cribs. This was 
done under fire from the Maryland bank. 

General Loring decided to join General Jackson, 
and with his troops, numbering about six thousand 
men, arrived in Winchester the latter part of December. 
The government did not send Colonel Edward John- 
son's troops also, as Jackson had requested, and directed 
Loring to retain command of his own forces, but to act 



NEW YEAR'S DAY, 1862. 223 

under orders from Jackson. The enemy having pos- 
session of the towns of Bath, Hancock, and Eomney, 
which gave them control of the fertile valley of the 
south branch of the Potomac, Jackson's plan was to 
move swiftly upon the first two named villages, and 
then to attack Romney, which was their strongest 
point. 

The morning of New Year's Day of 1862 dawned 
upon Winchester with all the glory and mildness of a 
spring day, and, the roads being in good condition, 
General Jackson started out with his little army of 
about eight thousand five hundred men, five battal- 
ions, and a few companies of cavalry, all moving for- 
ward with alacrity and fine spirits. But the weather, 
which on the first day had been so propitious, on the 
second " suddenly changed to be very severe, aiid the 
snow and sleet made the roads almost impassable for 
loaded wagons, unless the teams were specially shod 
for the purpose." The sufferings of the troops were 
terrible, as the frozen state of the i-oads rendered it 
impossible for the wagons to come up in time, and 
for several nights the soldiers bivouacked under the 
cold winter sky without tents or blankets. All these 
hardships and privations Jackson shared with the 
troops, and tried to encourage them in patient en- 
durance, and inspire them to press on. His own 
command bore up with great fortitude and without 
murmuring, but the adverse ^\'eather had the effect 
of greatly intensifying the discontent and disgust of 
Loring and his men, who had from the first been dis- 
inclined to a winter campaign ; and an unfortunate 
jealousy springing up between the two commands, 
caused an immense amount of trouble and disappoint- 



224 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ment to Jackson, and frustrated much of the success 
for which he had reason to hope. Many of tlie 
malcontents left their posts on the plea of sickness 
and returned to Winchester, and taunted " Jackson's 
pet lambs," as they called the Stonewall Brigade, for 
their foolhardiness in following a leader whom they 
did not hesitate to denounce as rash and severe, in 
dragging men through a winter campaign in such 
arctic weather. Nevertheless, this much-abused man 
and his brave followers pressed on, and at the end 
of a three days' hard march they reached Bath, but 
found the enemy had fled without stopping to make 
any resistance, leaving behind them all their stores 
and provisions. The Confederates pursued the fugi- 
tives, and soon overtook them near Hancock, and 
drove them into that village. Colonel Ashby was 
sent on the morning of the 5th to summon the place 
to surrender, and was led blindfold through the streets 
into the presence of the Federal commander. His 
name had so often caused dismay and confusion 
among their troops that their curiosity was greatly 
aroused at a sight of the dashing young cavalryman, 
and as they thronged around him he heard whispers 
of " That is the famous Ashby." The Federal com- 
mander refused to surrender, whereupon General 
Jackson cannonaded the town, and speedily drove the 
Federal forces out of it. It was his design to cross 
the Potomac and enter Hancock, but he says in his re- 
port : " On the 6th the enemy were reinforced to such 
an extent as to induce me to believe that my object 
could not be accomplished without a sacrifice of life, 
which I felt unwilling to make, as Eomnej', the great 
object of the expedition, might require for its recovery, 



MOVING ON ROMNEY. 225 

and especially for the capture of the troops in and near 
there, all the force at my disposal. ... As the United 
States troops had repeatedly shelled Shepherdstown, 
and had even done so while there were no troops in 
the place, and it was not used as a means of defence, 
I determined to intimate to the enemy that such out- 
rages must not be repeated, and directed a few rounds 
from McLaughlin's battery to be fired at Hancock. 
The invader having been defeated and driven across 
the Potomac, the telegraph line broken at several 
points, and the railroael bridge across Great Cacapon 
destroyed, thus throwing material obstacles in the 
way, not only in transmitting intelligence from Rom- 
ney to Hancock, but also of receiving reinforcements 
from the east, arrangements were made for moving on 
Romney. 

" The next day, the 7th, the command was put in 
motion. . . . Before night a despatch reached me giv- 
ing intelligence of our disaster that morning at Hang- 
ing Rock, where the enemy not only defeated our 
militia under Colonel Monroe, but captured two guns. 
. . . The enemy evacuated Romney on the 10th, and 
the town was soon occupied by Sheetz's and Shand's 
companies of cavalry, which were subsequently fol- 
lowed by other troops. The Federal forces, abandon- 
ing a large number of tents and other public property, 
which fell into our possession, retreated to a point 
between the railroad bridge across Patterson's Creek 
and the northwestern branch of the Potomac, which 
was as far as they could retire without endangering 
the safety of the two bridges. Our loss in the ex- 
pedition in killed was four ; in wounded, twenty-eight. 
The Federal loss in killed and wounded not ascer- 
15 



226 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

tained. Sixteen of them were captured. After the 
arrival in Eoraney of General Loring's leading bri- 
gade, under Colonel Taliaferro, I designed moving 
with it, Garnett's brigade, and other forces on an im- 
portant expedition against the enemy, but such was 
the extent of demoralization in the first-named bri- 
gade as to render the abandonment of that enterprise 
necessary. Beheving it imprudent to attempt further 
movements with Loring's command against the Fed- 
erals, I determined to put it in winter-quarters in the 
vicinity of Romney." 

On hearing of the approach of Jackson, even when 
they were over a day's march distant, the Federals, 
though superior in numbers, fled from Eomney in such 
haste that they left their tents standing, and much of 
their equipage behind them. In their track of retreat 
they left ruin and desolation everywhere. The dwell- 
ings of the rich and poor alike, the factories, mills, 
and churches were burned or wantonly desecrated ; 
widows and orphans driven from their homes, and the 
torch applied to them ; and even the domestic ani- 
mals — everything that could be useful to man — were 
either taken away or shot down. For fifteen miles it 
was one continuous scene of smoking ruins and dev- 
astation. In his official report General Jackson thus 
alludes to these atrocities ; 

" I do not feel at liberty to close this report with- 
out alluding to the conduct of the reprobate Federal 
commanders, who, in Hampshire County, have not 
onlj' burned valuable mill property, but also many 
private houses. The track from Romney to Hanging 



FRUITS OF THE EXPEDITION. 227 

Eock, a distance of fifteen miles, was one of desola- 
tion. The number of dead animals lying along the 
roadside, where they had been shot by the enemy, exem- 
plified the spirit of that part of the Northern army." 

General Jackson's estimate of the value of the 
fruits of this expedition will be shown by a quota- 
tion from his report : 

" On January 2d there was not, from the informa- 
tion I could gather, a single loyal man in Morgan 
County who could remain at home with safety. 
Within less than four days the enemy had been de- 
feated, their baggage captured ; and by teaching the 
Federal authorities a lesson, that a town claiming 
allegiance to the United States lay under our guns; 
Shepherdstown protected, which had repeatedly be- 
fore, though not since, been shelled ; the railroad com- 
munication with Hancock broken ; all that portion of 
the county east of the Great Cacapon recovered ; 
Romney and a large part of Hampshire County evac- 
uated by the enemy without the firing of a gun ; the 
enemy had fled from the western part of Hardy, had 
been forced from the offensive to the defensive — 
under these circumstances, judge what must have 
been my astonishment at receiving from the Secre- 
tary of War the following despatch : ' Our news in- 
dicates that a movement is being made to cut off 
General Loring's command. Order him back to 
Winchester immediately.' " 

From the report of General Loring and his com- 
mand, it seems that the military circles Of the Con- 
federacy at Richmond had been made to believe that 



228 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

they were the victims of a crazy leader, whose mad 
career must be sto]iped at once for the safety of Lor- 
ing and his men. if not for the country. General 
Jackson, with the Stonewall Brigade, had returned to 
Winchester, leaving Loring's force, wliich was the 
larger part of his command, in winter-quarters near 
Romney, with the confident expectation that, since he 
had cleared out all that region of the enemy, Loring 
would be safe, and able to defend himself against any 
future attack, and, besides, he was near enough to go to 
him in case of danger. It can readily be seen, there- 
fore, how inexplicable to him seemed this order from 
the War Department. In his report he continues : 

" I promptly complied with the order, but in do- 
ing so forwarded to the Secretary of War my con- 
ditional resignation. Up to that time, God, who has 
so wondei'fully blessed us during the war, had given 
great success to the etforts for protecting loyal citizens 
in their rights, and in recovering and holding territory 
in this district which had been overrun by the enemy. 
It is true that our success caused much exposure and 
suffering to the command. Several nights the troops 
had to bivouac, notwithstanding the inclemency of the 
weather, their tents not coming up on account of the 
bad condition of the roads ; yet every command, except 
part of General Loring's, bore up under these hardships 
with the fortitude becoming patriotic soldiers. 

. . . '" General Loring's evacuation of Romney and 
return to the vicinity of Winchester was the beginning 
of disasters. The enemy, who up to that time had been 
acting on the defensive, suddenly changed to the offen- 
sive and advanced on Roraney ; next, drove our troops 



JACKSON RESIGNS HIS COMMAND. 229 

out of Moorefield on the 12th of this month [Febru- 
ary] ; two days after forced our militia from Bloomery 
Pass, thus coming to within twenty -one miles of "Win- 
chester, and capturing a number of prisoners." 

Perhaps the honorable Secretary of War was, in 
his turn, somewhat surprised at receiving the follow- 
ing reply to his peremptory order to General Jackson : 

" He.\dquarter8, Valley District, Jan. 31st, 1862. 
"Hon. J. P. Benjamin: 

" Sir, — Your order requiring me to direct General 
Loring to return with his command to AYinchester 
has been received and promptly complied with. With 
such interference in my command, I cannot expect to 
be of much service in the field, and I accordingly re- 
spectfully request to be ordered to report for duty to 
the Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute 
at Lexington, as has been done in the case of other 
professors. Should this application not be granted, I 
respectfully request that the President will accept my/ 
resignation from the army. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" T. J. Jackson, 
" Major-General, P. A. C. S." 

This letter was, of course, submitted to General 
Johnston, the chief commander of the department, 
who, in forwarding it, wrote upon it this endorsement : 

" Headquarters, Centreville, Feb. 7th, 1863. 
" Respectfully forwarded with great regret. I don't 
know how the loss of this officer can be supplied. 
General officers are much wanted in this department. 

" J. E. Johnston, General." 



230 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

General Johnston also wrote the following letter to 
General Jackson : 

" February 3d. 
" Major-Geneeal Jackson : 

'• My dear Friend, — I have just read, and with pro- 
found regret, your letter of January 31st to the Secre- 
tary of War asking to be relieved fi'om your present 
command, either by an order to the Virginia Military 
Institute or the acceptance of your resignation. Let 
me beg you to reconsider this matter. Under ordi- 
nary circumstances, a due sense of one's own dignity, 
as well as care for professional character and official 
rights, would demand such a course as yours ; but the 
character of this war, the great energy exhibited by 
the government of the United States, the danger in 
which our very existence as an independent people 
lies, require sacrifices from us all who have been edu- 
cated as soldiei-s. I receive my information of the 
order of which you have such cause to complain from 
your letter. Is not that as great an official wrong to 
me as the order itself is to you ? Let us dispassion- 
ately reason with the government on this subject of 
command, and if we fail to influence its practice, then 
ask to be relieved from positions the authority of 
which is exercised by the "War Department while the 
responsibilities are left to us. I have taken the liber- 
ty to detain your letter to make this appeal to your 
patriotism, not merely from warm feelings of personal 
regard, but from the official opinion which makes me 
regard you as necessary to the service of the country 
in your present position. 

" Very truly yours, 

" J. E. Johnston." 



REASONS FOR DISSATISFACTION. 231 

General Jackson also addressed the following note 
to General Johnston's adjutant-general : 

" Headquarters, Valley District, Feb. 1st, 1863. 
" Major Thomas G. Ehett, Assistant Adjutant-General : 
" Major, — The Secretary of War stated, in the order 
requiring General Loring's command to fall back to 
this place immediately, that he had been informed that 
the command was in danger of being cut off. Such 
danger, I am well satisfied, does not exist, nor did it, 
in my opinion, exist at the time the order was given, 
and I therefore respectfully recommend that the order 
be countermanded, and that General Loring be re- 
quired to return with his command to the vicinity of 
Komney. 

" KespectfuUy, 

" T. J. Jackson, 
" Major-General, P. A. C. S., commanding." 

" Endorsement : 

" Centreville, Feb. 6th, 1862. 

" Respectfully referred to the Secretary of "War, 
whose orders I cannot countermand. 

" J. E. Johnston, General." 

In his late exjiedition, General Jackson had received 
but little aid from the government. The disaffection 
of General Loring and his men had been enough to dis- 
courage and seriously affect the success of the enter- 
prise. • Jackson had endured with his command all the 
rigors and hardships of an exceptionally severe winter. 
And yet, in the face of all these obstacles, he had with 
his heroic Uttle band succeeded in driving the enemy 



232 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

/from every point he had attacked, and had recovered 

this entire district. When it was urged upon him that 
/he should be willing to make sacrifices to serve his 
(country in her time of sore need, he exclaimed : '' Sac- 
Irifices ! have I not made them ? What is my life here 
but a daily sacrifice ? Nor shall I ever withhold sacri- 
j fices for my country, where they avail anj'thing. I 
' intend to serve her anywhere, in any way in which I 
am permitted to do it with effect, even if it be as a 
private soldier. But if this method of making war is 
to prevail, which they seek to establish in my case, the 
country is ruined. My duty to her requires that I 
shall utter my protest against it in the most energetic 
form in my power, and that is to resign." He also 
wrote to Governor Letcher, requesting him to use his 
influence in having him ordered back to the Institute, 
saying the order from the War Department " was 
given without consulting me, and is abandoning to the 
enemy what has cost much preparation, expense, and 
exposure to secui'e, and is in direct conflict with my 
military plans, and implies a want of confidence in my 
capacity to judge when General Loring's troops should 
fall back, and is an attempt to control military opera- 
tions in detail from the Secretary's desk at a distance. 
I have, for the reasons set forth in the accompanying 
paper, requested to be ordered back to the Institute, 
and if this is denied me, then to have my resignation 
accepted. I ask as a special favor that you will have 
nie ordered back to the Institute. As a single order 
like that of the Secretary's may destroy the entire 
fruits of a campaign, I cannot reasonably expect, if 
my operations are thus to be interfered with, to be of 
much service in the field. A sense of duty brought 



"NO, NO: I MUST RESIGN!" 233 

me into the field, and has thus far kept me. It now 
appears to be ray duty to return to the Institute, and 
I hope that you will leave no stone unturned to get 
me there. If I ever acquired, through the blessing of 
Providence, any influence over troops, this undoing my 
work by the Secretary may greatly diminish that in- 
fluence. I regard the recent expedition as a great suc- 
cess. ... I desire to say nothing against the Secre- 
tary of War. I take it for granted that he has done 
what he believes to be best, but I regard such a policy 
as ruinous. 

" Very truly your friend, 

"T. J. Jackson." 

A gentleman who had an interview with him at 
this critical moment thus gives the result : " Never 
can I forget an interview held with him the night 
that he forwarded his resignation. When urged to 
withhold it, upon the ground that the country could 
not spare his services — that his name was alike a ter- 
ror to our enemies and a tower of strength to our 
cause, inspiring confidence and arousing enthusiasm, 
even among the doubtful and wavering — 'No, no,' 
said he, ' yon greatly overestimate my capacity for use- 
fulness. A better man will soon be sent to take my 
place. The government have no confidence in my 
capacity, or they would not thus countermand my 
orders, and throw away the fruits of victory that have 
been secured at such a sacrifice of the comfort of my 
noble troops in their hurried march through the storm 
of snow and sleet. No, sir, I must resign, and give 
ray place to soran one in whom they have more confi- 
dence.' " 



234 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

When urged that perhaps the government had been 
misinformed as to the facts, he responded : 

" Certainly they have ; but they must be taught not 
to act so hastily without a full knowledge of the facts. 
I can teach them this lesson now by my resignation, 
and the country will be no loser by it. If I fail to do 
so, an irreparable loss may hereafter be sustained, 
when the lesson might have to be taught by a Lee or 
Johnston." This was nearly his exact language, as we 
well remember it. But little he knew that when his 
services were lost to the cause — or, as General Lee 
afterwards expressed it, that he had lost his right arm 
— the whole army would be paralyzed, and the cause 
itself lost. But our far-seeing and sagacious governor 
knew the worth of Stonewall Jackson to the army, 
and wrote at once, begging him to reconsider his de- 
cision, and sent one of his most influential officials to 
remonstrate with him in person against his leaving the 
army. The same protests poured in from other quar- 
ters, from persons of all grades, both in public and 
private life, among them some aged ministers of the 
Gospel — all imploring him to withdraw his resignation. 
In reply to a second letter from Governor Letcher, he 
wrote : 

"Winchester, Feb. 6th, 1862. 

" His Excellency John Letches, Governor of Virginia : 
" Governor, — Your letter of the ith instant was re- 
eived this morning. If my retiring from the army 
ould produce that efi'ect upon our country which you 
ave named in your letter, I, of course, would not de- 
ire to leave the service ; and if, upon the receipt of this 
hote, your opinion remains unchanged, you are author- 
ized to withdraw my resignation, unless the Secretary 



WITHDRAWS HIS RESIGNATION. 235 

of War desires that it should be accepted. My reasons 
for resigning were set forth in my letter of the 31st 
ultimo, and my views remain unchanged ; and if the 
Secretary persists in the ruinous policy complained of, 
I feel that no officer can serve his country better than 
by making his strongest possible protest against it, 
which, in my opinion, is done by tendering his resigna- 
tion, rather than be a wilful instrument in prosecuting 
the war upon a ruinous principle. I am much obliged 
to you for requesting that I should be ordered to the 
Institute. 

" Very truly your friend, 

" T. J. Jackson." 

Upon receiving assurances from the government 
that it did not intend to interfere with his military 
plans, Governor Letcher deemed it best to withdraw 
his resignation in the name of Virginia ; and to this 
he yielded with true soldierly obedience, and it was 
thus that Stonewall Jackson was preserved to the 
army. 



^ 



CHAPTER XIII. 

KERNSTOWN, McDOWELL, AND WINCHESTER— 1862. 

After all the hardships and trials of the late ex- 
pedition, General Jackson returned from Romney to 
Winchester so full of animation and high spirits, gal- 
loping along on his little sorrel with such speed through 
the mud and slush, that one of his elder staff-officers 
laughingly said to him : " WeU, general, / am not so 
anxious to see Mrs. Jackson as to break my neck keep- 
ing up with you, and with your permission I shall faU 
back and take it more leisureh'." As tiiey were not 
in pursuit of the enemy, the request was granted, and 
this officer, with some others, did not reach Winches- 
ter until the day following, while General Jackson, 
with the younger members of the staff, rode the whole 
forty miles in one short winter dav. After goinor to 
a hotel and divesting himself of the mud which had 
bespattered him in his rapid ride, and making as per- 
fect a toilet as possible, he rang the door-bell of Mr. 
Graham, who admitted him. and in another moment 
he came bounding into the sitting-room as joyous and 
fresh as a schoolboy, to give his wife a surprise, for 
he had not intimated when he would return. As soon 
as the first glad greetings were over, before taking his 
seat, with a face all aglow with delight, he glanced 
around the room, and was so impressed with the cosy 
and cheerful aspect of Mr. Graham's fireside, as we all 



JOYFUL RETURX HOME. 237 

sat round it that winter evening, that he exclaimed : 
" Oh ! this is the very essence of comfort /" The bright 
picture of home-life was exceedingly refreshing to him 
after all the discomfort and exposure through which 
he had passed since he left us three weeks before. He 
never looked better and more radiant than on that 
evening. Mr. Graham had an interesting little family 
of children, who afforded him much pleasure, and it 
was the special privilege of one of the little boys to 
ride down-stairs in the mornings upon the back of the 
general, the performance provoking as much glee on 
his part as it did on that of the child.* 

In making the trip from Romne}', he was more than 
ever charmed with " Little Sorrel," whose powers of 
endurance proved quite remarkable. After bearing 
him along with so much fleetness and comfort, he said 
the horse seemed almost as fresh and unwearied at the 
end of the journey as at the beginning. 

When the Loring troubles came, and General Jack- 
son thought he might be ordered back to the Institute, 
the anticipation of returning home gave him unbound- 
ed happiness — the only consideration marring it being 
a feeling that his paramount duty was to be in the 
field when his country was in danger. Duty alone con- 
strained him to forego the happiness and comforts of his 
beloved home for the daily hardships of a soldier's life. 

For the next month after his return he remained 
quietly in "Winchester. After Loring's evacuation of 
Romney the Federal troops again took possession, and 

* It is an interesting item of the family history that the little 
youngster who was thus honored, when he grew to manhood, be- 
came a minister of the Gospel, and, as the Rev. Alfred T. Graham, 
was married to Miss Isabel Irwin, a niece of Mrs. Jackson. 



238 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

spread in such numbers along the border as to threat- 
en Winchester on every side ; and the difficulties of 
General Jackson's position were greatly enhanced by 
a diminution of his small army, Loring and all his 
troops that were not Virginians having been or- 
dered elsewhere ; and in order to induce re-enlist- 
ment, furloughs had been freely granted ; so that, 
at the time of the most imminent danger. General 
Jackson's force was reduced to about four thousand 
effective men, exclusive of militia. He informed the 
commander-in-chief that his position required at least 
nine thousand men for its defence, threatened as it was 
by Banks on one side and Lander on the other. But as 
Johnston was himself preparing to retreat before the 
advance of McClellan, he had no troops to spare. To 
a friend in the Confederate Congress Jackson wrote : 

"What I desire is, to hold the country as far as 
practicable until we are in a condition to advance ; 
and then, with God's blessing, let us make thorough 
work of it. But let us start right. ... In regard to 
3'our question as to how many troops I need, you will 
probably be able to form some idea when I tell you 
that Banks, who commands about thirty-five thousand, 
has his headquarters in Charleston, and that Kelly, 
who has succeeded Lander, has probably eleven thou- 
sand, with his headquarters near Paw -Paw. Thus 
you see two generals, whose united force is near forty- 
six thousand troops, already organized for three years 
or the war, opposed to our little force here : but I 
do not feel discouraged. Let me have what force 
you can. McClellan, as I learn, was at Charleston on 
Friday last ; there may be something significant in 



PREPARING TO LEAVE WINCHESTER. 239 

this. You observe, then, the impossibility of saying 
how many troops I shall require, since it is impossible 
for me to know how many will invade us. I am de- 
lighted to hear you say Virginia is resolved to conse- 
crate all her resources, if necessary, to the defence of 
herself. Now we may look for war in earnest. You 
ask me for a letter respecting the Valley. I am well 
satisfied that you can say much more about it than I 
can, and in much more forcible terms. I have only to 
say this, that if this valley is lost, Virginia is lost. 
" Very truly your friend, T. J. Jackson." 

Jackson meanwhile remained at Winchester, watch- 
ing closely the advance of Banks, and doing what was 
possible to impede it. General Johnston thus describes 
the duty assigned to him : " After it had become evi- 
dent that the Valley was to be invaded by an army 
too strong to be encountered by Jackson's division, 
that officer was instructed to endeavor to employ the 
invaders in the Valley, but without exposing himself 
to the danger of defeat, by keeping so near the enemy 
as to keep him from making any considerable detach- 
ment to reinforce McClellan. but not so near that he 
might be compelled to fight." General Jackson sent 
his stores, baggage, and the sick to the rear, but con- 
tinued to hold his position to the last moment. Early 
in March, when he found that he would be compelled 
to retire from Winchester, although his heart was 
yearning to stay and defend the place, he thought it 
was no longer safe for me to remain, and I was sent 
away on the same train wliich convej'sd the sick to a 
place of safety. In the midst of all this terrible men- 
tal strain my husband maintained the most perfect 



240 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

self-control and cheerfulness, throwing off (when in 
my presence at least) the heavy burden under which 
he labored — talking as little as possible about military 
matters, and showing much of his old home ])layful- 
ness and abandon. He told me that when his "sun- 
shine" was gone out of the room which had been to 
us the holy of holies on earth that winter, he never 
wanted to enter it again; and yet to the last mo- 
ment he lingered at the door of the coach in which I 
left with bright smiles, and not a cloud upon his peace- 
fid brow. For thirteen months we did not meet again. 

Never, as long as life lasts, can I forget the harrow- 
ing scenes of that day upon which I left Winchester. 
Many of the poor soldiers looked as if they were almost 
at the point of death. Some were so helpless that they 
had to be carried on the backs of their comrades — their 
pale, emaciated, and despairing faces and moans of suf- 
fering being pitiful and heart-moving beyond descrip- 
tion. At ]\Ianassas there was a delay of an hour or 
more in transferring them to another train, and as I 
sat and watched that procession of concentrated mis- 
ery, with my own heart so heavy and anxious, I was 
never so impressed with the horrors of war. 

No ray of sunshine lightened the gloom. As I jour- 
neyed sadly along, ray attention was attracted by the 
conversation of a lady and gentleman who sat imme- 
diately in front of me. He was a Confederate officer, 
and she was plying him with questions about the army, 
its officers, etc. After freely discussing Lee, Johnston, 
and others, the lady asked : " And what do you think 
of Old Stonewall f I almost held my breath, but 
could not have been more gratified when the answer 
came, for it Avas this : " I have the most implicit confi- 



PROPOSES A NIGHT ATTACK. 241 

dence in him, madam. At first I did not know wbat 
to think of his bold and aggressive mode of warfare ; 
but since I know the man, and have witnessed liis abil- 
ity and patriotic devotion, / would follow him any- 
where." How my heart warmed to- that stranger, 
who little knew that General Jackson's wife was a 
listener to a commendation which could not have been 
more satisfactory if it had been given for her benefit ! 
This was to me the brightest gleam of sunlight on that 
dreary journey. 

To show General Jackson's extreme reluctance to 
retreat from the loj'al old town of Winchester without 
striking a blow in its defence, he conceived the bold 
idea of becoming the attacking party himself, and to 
this end he called a council of his chief officers, and 
proposed to them a night attack upon Banks. In the 
meantime, while they were assembling, he w^ent, all 
booted and spurred, to make a hasty call on his friend 
Mr. Graham, whose family he found oppressed with 
the gloom which overspread the whole town. He was 
so buoyant and hopeful himself that their drooping 
spirits were revived, and after engaging with them 
in family worship he returned to meet his council of 
war. However, his proposition was not approved, and 
he hurried back to correct the impression he had made 
upon his friends by his cheering words and sanguine 
predictions ; his countenance and bearing, wliich at 
that time beamed with hope and the fire of patriotic 
devotion, were now changed to deepest perplexity and 
depression. Still, he was so loath to give up his coveted 
scheme that he said, with slow and desperate earnest- 
ness : " But — let me think — can I not yet carry my 
plan into execution ?" As he uttered these words he 
16 



242 LIFE OF GENERAL TiiOMAS J. JACKSOX, 

grasped the hilt of his sword, raised his face with a 
look of determination, and the light of battle glowed 
in his ej'es ; but the next moment he dropped his head, 
and, releasing his sword, said : " No; I must not do it; 
it may cost the lives of too many brave men. I must 
retreat, and wait for a better time." 

On the 7th of March General Banks approached 
within four miles of Winchester, and General Jackson 
drew up his little force in line of battle to meet him; 
but the former withdrew without attacking. The ac- 
tivity of Ashby and the boldness with which Jackson 
maintained his position impressed his adversary with 
the conviction that the Confederate force was much 
larger than it was in reality. Banks advanced in a 
cautious and wary manner, refusing to attack, but 
pushing forward his left wing so as to threaten Jack- 
son's flank and rear. Bj' tlie 11th of March tliis move- 
ment had gone so far that it was no longer safe to hold 
"Winchester. Jackson remained under arms all day, 
hoping for an attack in front, but none was made, and 
late in the afternoon his little army withdrew from the 
town, and it was occupied by the Federals the next day, 
]\Iarch 12th. The Confederates continued to retreat 
slowly to Woodstock and Mount Jackson, forty miles in 
rear of Winchester, and Shields's division was thrown 
I forward in pursuit to Strasburg on tlie 17th. 

To his wife General Jackson wrote on the 10th of 
March from Winchester : 

" M}' darling, you made a timely retreat from here, 
for on Friday the Yankees came within five miles of 
this place. Ashby skirmished for some time with 
them, and after they fell back he followed them until 



GENERAL BANKS IN WINCHESTER. 243 

they halted near Bunker Hill, which is twelve miles 
from here, where they are at present. The troops 
are in excellent spirits. . . . How God does bless us 
wherever we are ! [This was in reference to the kind- 
ness we had received in Winchester.] I am very 
thankful for the measure of health with which lie 
blesses me. I do not remember having been in such 
good health for years. . . . My heart is just overflow- 
ing with love for my little darling wife." 

"Woodstock, March 17th, 1862. 
" The Federals have possession of Winchester. They 
advanced upon the town the Friday after you left, 
but Ashby, aided by a kind Providence, drove them 
back. I had the other troops under arms, and marched 
to meet the enemy, but they did not come nearer than 
about five miles of the town, and fell back to Bunker 
Hill. On last Tuesday they adv^anced again, and 
again our troops were under arms to meet them, but 
after coming within four miles of the town they 
halted for the night. I was in hopes that they would 
advance on me during the evening, as I felt that God 
would give us the victory ; but as they halted for the 
night, and I knew they could have large reinforce- 
ments by morning, I determined to fall back, and sent 
my troops back the same night to their wagons in 
rear of Winchester, and the next morning moved still 
farther to the rear." 

The retirement of Jackson and the unopposed occu- 
pation of the lower valley by Banks reheved McClel- 
lan of all fears in that direction ; and in pursuance of 
President Lincoln's requirement, Banks was ordered 



244 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

to intrench himself in the vicinity of Manassas, in or- 
der to guard the approaches to Washington. Shields's 
division was accordingly recalled from Strasburg, and 
the Federals began their movement towards Manassas 
on the 2i)th of March. On the evening of the 21st 
Ashby reported that the enemy had evacuated Stras- 
burg. Jackson, divining that this meant a withdrawal 
towards Washington, at once ordered pui-suit with 
all his available force. The whole of his little army 
reached Strasburg on the aftei'noon of the 22d, the 
greater part after a march of twenty-two miles. Mean- 
time the indefatigable Ashby Avas following close be- 
hind the retreating enemy, and late in the afternoon 
of the 22d, as Jackson was entering Strasburg, Ashby 
was attacking the Federal pickets one mile south of 
Winchester. After the skirmish, Ashby camped for 
the night at Kernstown, three miles south of Win- 
chester. General Shields, who commanded the troops 
Ashby had attacked, and Avho was himself wounded 
in the skirmish, had displayed but a small part of his 
force; and this fact, combined with information ob- 
tained within the Federal lines, misled the Confeder- 
ates. The reports brought out led Ashb}' to believe 
that all but one brigade had gone, and that it expected 
to leave for Harper's Ferry the next day ; but the fact 
was that Shields's division of three brigades still re- 
mained. This information caused Jackson to push on 
with all haste the next morning. At daylight he sent 
three companies of infantry to reinforce Ashby, and 
followed with his whole force. After a march of four- 
teen miles he reached Kernstown at 2 p.m. Shields 
had made his disposition to meet attack, and Ashby 
kept up an active skirmish with the advance of 



BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. 245 

Shields's force durino' the forenoon. But thougli thus 
making ready, the Federal generals did not expect an 
attack in earnest, believing that Jackson could not be 
tempted to hazard himself so far from his main sui> 
port. When he reached Kernstown his troops were 
very weary. Three fourths of them had marched 
thirty-six miles since the preceding morning. lie 
therefore gave directions for bivouacking, and saj's in 
his report : " Though it was very desirable to prevent 
the enemy from leaving the Valley, yet I deemed it 
best not to attack until morning. But subsequently 
ascertaining that the Federals had a position from 
which our forces could be seen, I concluded that it 
would be dangerous to postpone the attack until the 
next day, as reinforcements might be brought up dur- 
ing the night." Jackson, therefore, led his men to the 
attack. His plan was to gain the ridge upon which 
the Federal right flank rested, turn that flank, and get 
command of the road from Kernstown to Winchester 
in the rear. He gained the top of the ridge, but 
Shields held him in check until he could huny other 
troops to that, flank, when Jackson in turn became 
the attacked party. For three hours of this Sunday 
afternoon the sanguinary and stubborn contest con- 
tinued. But bravely as the Confederates fouglit, they 
were finally overcome by the superior numbers of the 
enemy, and were compelled to retreat. Weary and 
dispirited was the little army which had marched four- 
teen miles in the morning to attack a force more than 
double its own, and which had for three hours wrestled 
for victory in so vigorous a manner as to astonish and 
deceive the enemy. Baffled and overpowered, it slow- 
ly retraced its path for six miles more, and sank to 



246 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

rest. In the fence corners, under the trees, and around 
the wagons, tlie soldiers threw themselves down, many 
too tired to eat, and forgot in slumber the toils, dan- 
gers, and disappointments of the day. Jackson shared 
the open-air bivouac with his men. His faithful com- 
missary. Major Hawks, made a roaring fire, and was 
making a bed of rails, when the general wished to 
know what he was doing. " Fixing a place to sleep," 
was the reply. " You seem determined to make your- 
self and those around you comfortable," siaid Jack- 
son. Knowing the general had fasted all day, the 
major soon obtained some bread and meat from the 
nearest squad of soldiers, and after they had satisfied 
their hunger they slept soundly on the rail bed in a 
fence corner. 

The Federals picked up two or three hundred pris- 
oners, and as they marched them through the streets 
of "Winchester the inhabitants turned out almost en 
7nasse to show them their sympathy, and many of 
their friends and kindred were recognized among the 
captives. The next day the citizens asked and obtained 
permission to bury the Confederate dead on the battle- 
field, and persons of all ages and conditions flocked 
thither, for there was scarcely a family in the county 
which had not a relative in Jackson's command ; and 
with torturing anxiety the women looked into the 
face of every prostrate form, fearing to find it one of 
their own loved ones. Tlie wounded had been taken 
off the battle-field by tjieir general, who ordered his 
medical director. Dr. McGuire, to send them to the 
rear. As the army was retreating, the surgeon said: 
" But that requires time. Can you stay to protect 
us V " Make yourself easy about that," replied he ; 



RETIRES TO MOUNT JACKSON. 247 

" this army stays here until the last wounded man is 
removed." And then with deep feeling he said : " Be- 
fore I wiU leave them to the enemy I will lose many 
more men." The next morning after the battle, Gen- 
eral Jackson gradually retired before the advancing 
enemy, once more, to Mount Jackson. 

To his wife he wrote on the 24th of March : 

" Yesterday important considerations, in my opin- 
ion, rendered it necessary to attack the enemy near 
"Winchester. The action commenced about 3 p.m. and 
lasted until dark. Our men fought bravely, but the 
superior numbers of the enemy repulsed me. Many 
valuable lives were lost. Our God was my shield. 
His protecting care is an additional cause for grati- 
tude. I lost one piece of artillery and three caissons. 
The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was 
probably superior to ours." 

" March 28th. Near Mount Jackson. . . . My lit- 
tle army is in excellent spirits. It feels that it inflicted 
a severe blow upon the enemy. I stayed in camp last 
night bivouacking. To-day I am in the house of a 
Mr. AUen, where I am quite comfortable. This is a 
beautiful country. The celebrated Meem farm is near 
here, and is the most magnificent one tliat I know of 
anywhere. After God, our God, again blesses us with 
peace, I hope to visit this country with my darhng, 
and enjoy its beauty and loveliness." 

" April 7th. My precious pet, your sickness gives 
me great concern ; but so live that it, and all your tri- 
als, may be sanctified to you, remembering that ' our 



248 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory.' I trust you and all I have in the hands of 
a kind Providence, knowing that all things work to- 
gether for the good of His people. 

" Yesterday was a lovely Sabbath day. Although 
I had not the privilege of hearing the word of life, 
yet it felt like a holy Sabbath day, beautiful, serene, 
and lovely. All it wanted was the church-bell and 
God's services in the sanctuary to make it complete. 
. . . Our gallant little army is increasing in numbers, 
and my prayer is that it may be an army of the living 
God as well as of its country." 

" April 11th. I am very much concerned at having 
no letter this week, but my trust is in the Almighty. 
How precious is the consolation flowing from the 
Christian's assurance that 'all things work together 
for good to them that love God !' . . . God gave us a 
glorious victory in the Southwest [at Shiloh], but the 
loss of the great Albert Sidney Johnston is to be 
mourned. I do not remember having ever felt so sad 
at the death of a man whom I had never seen. . . . 
Although I was repulsed in the attempt to recover 
Winchester, yet the enemy's loss appears to have been 
three times that of ours. In addition to this, the great 
object which required me to follow up the enemy, as 
he fell back from Straslmrg, seems to have been ac- 
comphshed very thoroughly. I am well satisfied with 
the result. Congress has passed a vote of thanks, and 
General Johnston has issued a very gratifying order 
upon the subject, one which will have a fine effect 
upon my command. The great object to be acquired 



FIGHTING A BATTLE ON SUNDAY. 249 

by the battle demanded time to make known its ac- 
complishments. Time has shown that while the field 
is in possession of the enemy, the most essential fruits 
of the battle are ours. For this and all of our Heav- 
enly Father's blessings, I vrish I could be ten thousand 
times more thankful. Should any report be published, 
my views and object in fighting and its fruits will 
then become known. You appear much concerned at 
my attacking on Sunday. I was greatly concerned, 
too ; but I felt it my duty to do it, in consideration of 
the ruinous effects that might result from postponing 
the battle until the morning. So far as I can see, my 
course was a wise one ; the best that I could do under 
the circumstances, though very distasteful to my feel- 
ings ; and I hope and jjray to our Heavenly Father 
that I may never again be circumstanced as on that 
day. I believed that so far as our troops were con- 
cerned, necessity and mercy both called for the battle. 
I do hope the war will soon be over, and that I shall 
never again have to take the field. Arms is a pro- 
fession that, if its principles are adhered to for suc- 
cess, requires an officer to do what he fears may be 
wrong, and yet, according to military experience, must 
be done, if success is to be attained. And this fact of 
its being necessary to success, and being accompanied 
with success, and that a departure from it is accom- 
panied with disaster, suggests that it must be riglit. 
Had I fought the battle on Monday instead of Sun- 
day, I fear our cause would have suffered ; whereas, 
as things turned out, I consider our cause gained much 
from the engagement." 

His bold attack at Kernstown, though unsuccess- 



250 LITE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ful, led to many important results. Its first efifect 
was the accomplishment of one of the principal ob- 
jects of the Confederates — the recall of the Federal 
troops then marching from the Valley towards 
Manassas. It bad also the effect of changing the 
disposition of several of their divisions and corps, 
and producing such consternation at Washington 
that President Lincoln did not consider his capital 
secure, and detained McDowell's corps in front of 
the city, although General McCleUan had left over 
forty thousand troops for its defence ! 

For this achievement at Kernstown the Confederate 
Congress passed the following resolution of thanks : 

" 1. Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate 
States, that the thanks of Congress are due, and are 
hereby tendered, to Major-General Thomas J. Jack- 
son, and the officers and men under his command, 
for erallant and meritorious services in a successful 
engagement with a greatly superior force of the 
enemy near Kernstown, Frederick County, Virginia, 
on the 23d of March, 1862. 2. Besolved, that these 
resolutions be communicated by the Secretary of 
War to Major-General Jackson, and by him to his 
command." 

The noble women of Winchester, during the whole 
war, devoted themselves to nursing the sick and 
wounded soldiers with tender care and self-sacrifice, 
and their compassion failed not even in administer- 
ing to the wounded of the enemy. And after the 
war was ovei", from the midst of saddened and deso- 
late homes, they continued their self-denying care for 



MEMORIALS TO THE DEAD. 251 

the ashes of the brave men to whose comfort and 
encouragement they had contributed so freely in life, 
and by whose suffering cots they had often watched 
in sorrow, danger, and death. Under the leadership 
of Mrs. Philip Williams, they gathered the thousands 
of Confederate dead from the surrounding battle- 
fields and placed them in the " Stonewall Cemetery " 
— a memorial not more to the patriotism of man than 
to the devotion of woman. They also erected a hand- 
some monument to "The Unknown Dead" — and the 
State of Maryland, in the year 1880, likewise placed 
a beautiful monument in this cemetery in memory of 
her brave soldiers who fell in defence of the South. 
It is said that the State of North Cai'olina has more 
soldiers buried upon Virginia battle-fields than any 
other Southern State — a fact which speaks for itself 
in showing the heroic part borne by the good Old 
North State in the struggle for independence. 

The next month after the battle of Kernstown was 
to General Jackson one of comparative inaction. He 
spent it in recruiting his forces and reoi-ganizing his 
regiments, his ranks filling up under the new impe- 
tus given to enlistment by a new conscription bill, 
and by the return of furloughed men, which nearly 
doubled the number of his troops since the battle, 
but even yet he had only about five or six thousand 
men. His great desire to press into service every 
available man in Virginia will be seen by the fol- 
lowing letter, which he wrote on the 21st of March to 
Governor Letcher's aide-de-camp. Colonel French : 

" Colonel, — Please request the governor to order 
three thousand muskets to Staunton at his earliest 



252 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

convenience for the militia of tills district. Xone of 
tlie militia beyond the county, except live hundred 
from Augusta, have yet arrived, but they are turning 
out encouragingly. There are three religious denom- 
inations in this military district who are opposed to 
war. Eighteen [men] were recently arrested in endeav- 
oring to make their escape through Pendleton County 
to the enemy. Those who do not desert will, to some 
extent, hire substitutes, others will turn out in obedi- 
ence to the governor's call ; but I understand some of 
them say they will not 'shoot.' They can be made 
to fire, but can very easil}' take bad aim. So, for the 
purpose of giving to this command the highest degree 
of efficiency, and securing loyal feelings and co-opera- 
tion, I have, as these non-combatants are said to be 
good teamsters and faithful to their promises, deter- 
mined to organize them into companies of one hundred 
men each, rank and file, and after mustering them, 
with the legal number of company officers, into ser- 
vice, assign them to the various stafiP departments 
without issuing arms to them; but if at any time 
they have insufficient labor, to have them drilled, so 
that in case circumstances should justify it, arras may 
be given them. If these men are, as represented to 
me, faithful laborers and careful of property, this ar- 
rangement will not only enable many volunteers to 
return to the ranks, but will also save many valuable 
horses and other public property, in addition to arms. 
. . . All I have pledged myself is that, as far as prac- 
ticable, I will employ them in other ways than fighting, 
but with the condition that they shall act in good 
faith with me, and not permit persons to use their 
names for the purpose of keeping out of service." 



BANKS FOLLOWS JACKSON SLOWLY. 253 

On the 28th of April, General Jackson applied to 
General Lee, then acting as coramander-in-chief under 
President Davis, for a reinforcement of five thousand 
men, which addition to his force he deemed necessary 
to justify him in marching out and attacking Banks. 
Next day he was informed that no troops could be 
spared to him beyond the commands of Generals Ewell 
and Edward Johnson, the latter of whom was seven 
miles west of Staunton, at West View, with a brigade. 
General J. E. Johnston had transferred the mass of his 
army to the front of Richmond, where he had taken 
command in person. Ewell's division alone remained 
on the Rappahannock to watch the enemy, and to 
aid Jackson in case of need. This division was now 
near Gordonsville, and a good road from that point to 
Swift Run Gap placed it in easy reach of Jackson. 
Banks followed Jackson but slowly. He reached 
Woodstock on April 1st, and having pushed Ashby's 
cavalry back to Edinburg, five miles beyond, he 
attempted no further serious advance until the 17th. 
He then moved forward in force, and Jackson retired 
to Harrisonburg, and, crossing the main fork of the 
Shenandoah, took up his position at the western base 
of the Blue Ridge, in Swift Run Gap. This camp 
the Confederates reached on the 20th of April, and 
here they remained through ten days more of rain 
and mud. 

On the 16th of April, General Jackson wrote to 
his wife as follows : 

" Near New Market. 

" This morning is warm and spring-like, and this 
country is one of the most beautiful that I ever 
beheld. . . . On last Wednesday the enemy advanced 



254 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

on me at one o'clock a. m., and I fell back to this 
place, where I arrived on Friday. My route was 
through New Market and Harrisonburg. I am about 
midway between Harrisonburg and Stannardsville. 
The enemy did not advance as far as Harrisonburg 
on the Valley turnpike. The advance of the two 
armies is withiu a few miles of each other. ... I do 
want so much to see my darling, but fear such a priv- 
ilege will not be enjoyed for some time to come." 

" Swift Run Gap. 

..." Dr. Dabney is here, and I am very thankful 
to God for it. He comes up to my highest expecta- 
tions as a staff-officer." 

" Staunton, May 5th. 

" Since I last wrote to my darling I have been 
very busy. On Wednesday last I left my position 
near Swift Run Gap, and moved up the south fork 
of the Shenandoah to Port Republic, which is about 
three miles from AVej'er's Cave. I would like to see 
the cave, for I remembered that my little ])et had 
been there, and that gave me a deeper interest in the 
great curiosity. The road up the river was so treach- 
erous that I could only advance about six miles per 
day, and to leave the road was at the risk of sinking 
yet deeper in the quicksands, in which that locality 
abounds. The country is one of the loveliest I have 
ever seen. On Saturday the marcii was resumed, 
and we crossed the Blue Ridge at what is known as 
Brown's Gap, and thus entered into Eastern Virginia. 
I stopped with a very agreeable family named Pace. 
Here I expected to pass the Sabbath, but on Sunday 
morning I received a despatch stating that part of the 



POSITIOX OF THE TWO ARMIES. 255 

enemy's force had arrived within one day's march of 
Brigadier-General Edward Johnson's camp. Under 
the circumstances I felt it incumbent upon me to 
press forward, and I arrived here last evening, where 
I am stopping at the Virginia House. The troops are 
still coming in. The corps of cadets of the Virginia 
Mihtary Institute is here." 

General Edward Johnson was seven miles west of 
Staunton with about thirty-five hundred men. Gen- 
eral Jackson had about six thousand troops, and Gen- 
eral Ewell, with an equal force, was in the vicinity of 
Gordonsville. Such was the Confederate position. On 
the other hand, Banks, with the main body of his force 
of about twenty thousand men, occupied Harrisonburg, 
twelve or fifteen miles in front of General Jackson. 
Schenck and Milroy, commanding Fremont's advance 
of six thousand men, wei'e in front of Edward John- 
son, their pickets already east of the Shenandoah 
mountain, and on the Harrisonburg and Warm Springs 
turnpike. Fremont was preparing to join them from 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad with neai'ly ten thou- 
sand men, making the total of Fremont's movable 
column some fifteen thousand ; so, with a force of 
about sixteen thousand men (including Ewell and Ed- 
ward Johnson), General Jackson had on his hands the 
thirty-five thousand under Banks and Fremont. The 
Warm Springs turnpike afforded Banks a ready mode 
of uniting with Milroy and Schenck, in which case 
Staunton would be an easy capture. Fremont was 
already preparing to move in that direction. Jackson 
determined to anticipate such a movement, if possible, 
by uniting his own force to that of Johnson, and fall- 



256 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

ing upon Milroy, -while Ewell kept Banks in check. 
Then he would join Ewell, and with all his strength 
attack Banks. To accomplish this, Ewell was ordered 
to cross the mountain and occupy the position Jackson 
had held for ten days at Swift Kun Gap, thus keep- 
ing up the menace of Banks's flank. As Ewell ap- 
proached, Jackson left camp on the 30th of April, and 
inarched up the east bank of the Shenandoah to Port 
Republic, and on the 5th of May he reached Staunton 
with his armj% after a toilsome march through the 
mud and frequent quicksands. The movement of this 
devious route mystified friends as well as foes. The 
good people of Staunton were almost as much aston- 
ished when General Jackson made his sudden appear- 
ance in their town as if an angel had dropped down 
from the clouds ; for, like Banks, they thought he had 
withdrawn from the valley and disappeared into East- 
ern Virginia, no one knew whither. He gave his 
troops one day to rest, and on the next he hurried for- 
ward, united Johnson's force with his own, drove in 
the Federal pickets and foraging parties, and camped 
twenty-five miles west of Staunton. On the morrow 
(May 8th) he pushed on to McDowell, seized Sitling- 
ton's Hill, which commanded the town and enemy's 
camp, and made his dispositions to seize the road in 
rear of the enemy during the night. But Milroy and 
Schenck had united, and seeing their position unten- 
able, made a fierce attack in the afternoon to retake 
the hill or cover their retreat For three or four hours 
a bloody struggle took place on the brow of Sithng- 
ton's Hill. The Federals, though inflicting severe loss, 
were repulsed at every point, and at nightfall quietly 
withdrew. This was known as the battle of McDow- 



THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY. 257 

ell. The enemy lit their camp-fires, and in the dark, 
ness evacuated the town, retreating twenty-four miles 
to Franklin, in Pendleton County, where they met 
Fremont advancing with the main body of his forces. 
Jackson followed to this point ; but, finding it impos- 
sible to attack to advantage, deemed it inadvisable tc 
attempt anything further in this difficult country, with 
his ten thousand men against Fremont's fourteen or 
fifteen thousand. Screening completely his move- 
ments with cavalry, he turned back (May 13th), 
marched rapidly to within seventeen miles of Staun- 
ton, then turned towards Harrisonburg, and sent a 
despatch to General Ewell that he was on his way to 
attack Banks with their united forces. On the 12th 
of May he wrote thus to his wife : 

" Headquarters, Valley District, near Franklin. 

" My precious darling, I telegraphed you on the 9th 
that God had blest us with victory at McDowell. I 
have followed the enemy to this place, Avhich is about 
three miles from Franklin. The enemy has been rein- 
forced, and apparently designs making a stand beyond 
Franklin. I expect to reconnoitre to-day, but do not 
know as yet whether I will attack him thus reinforced. 
We have divine service at ten o'clock to-day (Monday) 
to render thanks to Almighty God for having crowned 
our arms with success, and to implore His continued 

favor." 

" Near HARRisoNBnRG, May 19th. 

..." How I do desire to see our country free and 
at peace ! It appears to me that I would appreciate 
home more than I have ever done before. Here I am 
sitting in the open air, writing on ray knee for want 

17 



258 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

of a table. . . . Yesterday Dr. Dabney preached an 
excellent sermon from the text : ' Come unto me, all 
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest.' It is a great privilege to have him with me." 

Before beginning his march on his return, he grant- 
ed his soldiers a rest of half a day on Monday, and 
issued the following order : 

" Soldiers of the Army of the Valley and Northwest : 
" I congratulate you on your recent victory at Mc- 
Dowell. I request you to unite with me this morn- 
ing in thanksgiving to Almighty God for thus having 
crowned your arms with success, and in praying that 
He will continue to lead you on from victory to vic- 
tory, until our independence shall be established, and 
make us that people whose God is the Lord. The 
chaplains will hold divine service at ten o'clock a.m. 
this day in their respective regiments." * 

The day after the battle he sent the following brief 
announcement to the government at Richmond : 

* A writer thus describes this scene : " There, in the beautiful 
little valley of the South Branch, with the blue and towering 
mountains covered with the verdure of spring, the green - sward 
smiling a welcome to the season of flowers, and the bright sun, 
unclouded, lending a genial, refreshing warmth — that army, 
equipped for the stern conflict of war, bent in humble praise and 
thanksgiving for the success vouchsafed to their arras. While 
this solemn ceremony was progressing in every regiment, the ene- 
my's artillery was occasionally belcliing forth its leaden death ; 
yet all unmoved stood that worshipping army, acknowledging 
the supremacy of the will of Hini who controls the destinies of 
men and nations, and chooses the weak things of earth to con- 
found the mighty." 



TAKING THE RESPONSIBILITr. 259 

" God blest our arms with victory at McDowell 
Station yesterday. 

" T. J. Jackson, Major-General." 

About the time General Ewell received the message 
from General Jackson to join him at Harrisonburg, 
an order came from General Johnston calling him with 
his force back to Gordonsville. But Ewell, knowing 
what a disappointment it would be to Jackson to thus 
have all his plans destroyed by want of his support, 
determined to have an interview with Jackson before 
moving in any direction. He accordingly rode a day 
and night to see him, and in the conference both were 
sorely perplexed as to what was their duty under the 
circumstances; Jackson not questioning the right of 
superior authority, and saying regretfully : " Then 
Providence denies me the privilege of striking a de- 
cisive blow for my country, and I must be satisfied 
with the humble task of hiding my little army among 
these mountains to watch a superior force." But Ewell 
proposed that if Jackson, as his ranking officer, would 
take the responsibility^ he would remain until the 
condition of affairs could be represented to General 
Johnston, which was decided upon, and meantime they 
united in a vigorous pursuit of Banks. Ashby had 
followed close on Banks's heels, and now. occupied 
his outposts with constant skirmishing, while he com- 
pletely screened Jackson. The latter, having marched 
rapidly to New Market, as if about to follow the foe 
to Strasburg to attack him thei'e, suddenly changed 
his route, crossed the Massanutton Mountain to Luray, 
where Ewell joined him, and poured down the narrow 
Page Valley by forced marches towards Front Eoj^al. 



260 WKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

The Confederates marched from Franklin to Front 
Royal, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, 
by Jackson's route, in ten days, and arrived at the 
latter place on the 23d of May. Front Royal was 
held by about one thousand Federals under Colonel 
Kenly, who had charge of large stores, and of the 
railroad and the important railroad bridges on the 
Shenandoah. This force covered the flank and rear 
of Banks's position at Strasburg. Kenly was taken 
by surprise, but after making what resistance he could, 
was forced across the bridges which he vainly attempt- 
ed to destroy, and fled to Winchester. Jackson, too im- 
patient to wait for his tired infantry, placed himself at 
the head of a few companies of cavalry, and pushed 
after the foe, whom he overtook, attacked, and dis- 
persed so effectually, that of those who were not killed 
or wounded, the greater part were taken prisonei-s. 

Exhausted nature could do no more. The weary 
and march-worn army sank down to rest. General 
Banks, amazed at this irruption, by which his flank was 
turned and his communications threatened, began dur- 
ing the night a precipitate retreat from Strasburg to 
Winchester. Jackson anticipates this, and pressed on 
the next morning to Middlelown, a village between 
Strasburg and Winchester, to find the road filled with 
Federal trains and troops. Capturing or scattering 
these in every direction, he followed on after the main 
body, which had ah-eady passed him, towards Winches- 
ter. He overtook them in the afternoon — pushed 
Banks's rear-guard before him all night, giving the 
main body of his troops only one hour to rest u{X)n 
their arms. The advance regiment, under Colonel 
Baylor, were not allowed to lie down at all, while their 



BANKS DRIVEN ACROSS THE POTOMAC. 261 

vigilant and untiring commander stood sentinel him- 
self at the head of the column, listening to every sound 
from the front. At dawn, he gave in an undertone 
the command, " Forward ! March !" which was passed 
down the command, and by daylight on the 25th of 
May he reached Winchester to find the Federal forces 
drawn up across the approaches to the town from the 
south and southeast. A vigorous attack was at once 
made by the Confederates, which for a short time was 
bravely resisted, but the Federal lines soon began to 
yield, and, seeing himself about to be overwhelmed, 
Banks retreated through Winchester. General Jack- 
son pressed closely, and the Federals emerged from 
the town a mass of disorganized fugitives, making 
their way with all speed towards the Potomac. See- 
ing the enemy break, Jackson set spurs to his horse, 
and, bounding upon the crest of a hill, shouted to his 
men : " Forward ! After the enemy !" and with a face 
aflame with animation and triumph, he galloped 
amidst the foremost pursuers. The Confederate in- 
fantry followed for several miles, capturing a large 
number of prisoners, and had the cavalry been as efB 
cient, but few of Banks's troops would have escaped. 
The troopers who proved derelict at this crisis had 
yielded to the temptation of the rich spoils they had 
captured from the enemy, and, as General Jackson 
expressed it, " forgetful of their high trust as the ad- 
vance-guard of a pursuing army, deserted their colors 
and abandoned themselves to pillage to such an ex- 
tent as to make it necessary for the gallant Ashby to 
discontinue further pursuit." This was a painful dis- 
appointment to General Jackson, and as he watched 
the flight of the multitude of fugitives, and saw the 



262 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

golden opportunity for cavalry to make the victory 
complete, he exclaimed with bitter regret : " Oh that 
my cavalry were in place ! Xever was there such a 
chance for cavalry !" In his official report he says : 
" Never have I seen an opportunity when it was in 
the power of cavalry to reap a richer harvest of the 
fruits of victory I" 

Banks halted on the north side of the Potomac, and 
Jackson allowed his exhausted men to rest at "Win- 
chester. In forty -eight hours the enemy had been 
driven between fifty and sixty miles, from Front Royal 
and Strasburg to the Potomac, with the loss of more 
than one third of his entire strength. His army had 
crossed that river a disorganized mass. Hundreds of 
wagons had been abandoned or burned. An immense 
quantity of quartermaster, commissary, medical, and 
ordnance stores had fallen into the hands of the victor. 
These stores were estimated by the Confederate quar- 
termaster as worth $300,000, and proved of inesti- 
mable value to the Confederacy. Some twenty-three 
hundred prisoners were taken to the rear when Gen- 
eral Jackson fell back, besides seven hundred and fifty 
wounded, sick, paroled, and left in the hospitals at 
"Winchester and Strasburg, making a total of about 
three thousand and fifty. The victory was glorious, 
even if the weary and march-worn command had not 
achieved all that their tireless and indomitable lead- 
er thought possible. "Winchester, having for several 
months been in the hands of the enemy, the joy of the 
inhabitants knew no bounds when they cauglit sight 
of the victorious Confederates, whom they welcomed 
as their deliverers and greeted with the wildest enthu- 
siasm. Universal rejoicing was manifested by all ages 



WHAT HAD BEEN DONE IN FOUR WEEKS. 263 

and sexes. That historic old town and its beautiful 
environs presented, by the afternoon of May 25th, an 
aspect of quiet and repose strangely in contrast with 
the stormy scenes of the morning. 

Monda}-^, the day after the engagements around 
Winchester, was spent, according to General Jack- 
son's custom, in religious services and thanksgiving, 
the following general order being issued by him on 
the morning of that day : 

' Within four weeks this army has made long and 
rapid marches, fought six combats and two battles — 
signally defeating the enemy in each one — capturing 
several stands of colors and pieces of artillery, with 
numerous prisoners, and vast medical, ordnance, and 
army stores ; and, finally, driven the boastful host 
which was ravaging our beautiful country into utter 
rout. The general commanding would warmly ex- 
press to the officers and men under his command his 
joy in their achievements, and his thanks for their brill- 
iant gallantry in action and their patient obedience 
under the hardships of forced marches, often more 
painful to the brave soldier than the dangers of battle. 
The explanation of the severe exertions to which the 
commanding general called the army, which were en- 
dured by them with such cheerful confidence in him, is 
now given in the victory of yesterday. He receives 
this proof of their confidence in the past with pride 
and gratitude, and asks only a similar confidence in 
the future. But his chief duty to-day, and that of the 
army, is to recognize devoutly the hand of a protecting 
Providence in the brilliant successes of the last three 
days — which have given us the results of a great vie- 



264 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

tory without great losses — and to make the oblation of 
our thanks to God for His mercies to us and our coun- 
try in heartfelt acts of religious worship. For this pur- 
pose the troops will remain in camp to-day, suspending 
as far as possible all military exercises, and the chap- 
lains of regiments will hold divine service in their sev- 
eral charges at four o'clock p. m." 

The next day was devoted to rest ; and on the third 
he moved on again towards Harper's Ferry, in order, 
by the most energetic diversions possible, to draw 
away troops from Richmond. 

The total rout of Banks at Winchester created such 
a panic in Washington that President Lincoln sent a 
despatch to McDowell to lay aside for the present his 
movement upon Richmond, and put twenty thousand 
men in motion at once for the Shenandoah, to meet 
the forces of Jackson and Ewell. And in a despatch 
to McClellan, of the 25th of May, he says : 

"Banks ran a race with them, beating them into 
Winchester yesterday evening. This morning a battle 
ensued between the two forces, in which Banks was 
beaten back in full retreat towards Martinsburg, and 
probably is broken up in a total rout." 

A favorite aphorism of General Jackson's was: 
" Never take counsel of j'our fears." While President 
Lincoln was thus " taking counsel of his fears " and 
promptly ordering troops from all directions to over- 
whelm Jackson, the latter was resting from the fa- 
tigues of his forced marches at Winchester. Plis loss 
during the whole expeilition was four hundred men. 



REJOICINGS IN WINCHESTER. 265 

The entire strength of his force was not over fifteen 
thousand men. All the energy of a great government 
was now expended in gathering about him a force of 
between fifty-five and sixty thousand men. Fremont, 
who had been quietly resting at Franklin while Gen- 
eral Jackson was making forced marches after Banks, 
was startled by the tidings of the Federal rout, as he 
himself was ordered by the President to take up his 
march, and come to the rescue in saving the national 
capital from the grasp of the redoubtable Confederate 
leader. On the 26th of May General Jackson wrote 
thus to his wife from Winchester : 

"My precious darling, an ever-kind Providence 
blest us with success at Front Royal on Friday, be- 
tween Strasburg and Winchester on Saturday, and 
here with a successful engagement on yesterday. I 
do not remember having ever seen such rejoicing as 
was manifested by the people of Winchester as our 
army yesterday passed through the town in pursuit of 
the enemy. The people seemed nearly frantic with 
joy ; indeed, it would be almost impossible to describe 
their manifestations of rejoicing and gratitude. Our 
entrance into Winchester was one of the most stirring 
scenes of ray life. The town is much improved in 
loyalty to our cause. Your friends greatly desired to 
see you with me. Last night I called to see Mr. and 
Mrs. Graham, who were very kind. . . . Time forbids 
a longer letter, but it does not forbid ray loving my 
espositaP 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

CROSS KEYS AND PORT REPUBLIC— 1862. 

After his victory at Winchester, General Jackson 
despatched a trusted messenger to Richmond to ask 
for reinforcements, and even that he should be given 
a force sufficient to march on "Washington, believing 
that this would be the surest way to break the for- 
midable lines which the enemy were now drawing 
round the Confederate capital. " Tell them," he said, 
"that I have but fifteen thousand effective men. If 
the present opening is improved, as it should be, I 
must have forty thousand." But the government de- 
cided that it would be unsafe to withdraw any troops 
from the defence of Richmond, but directed him to 
carry out his plan to the extent of making a feint of 
an invasion of Maryland, and of a move upon Wash- 
ington, and to retreat when he became too much en- 
dangered by overwhelming numbers. He marched to 
Harper's Ferrv, closely watching the approach of the 
enemy, and concluded on the 30th of May that it was 
time to withdraw his small army if he would pass 
between the converging armies of Fremont and Mc- 
Dowell. By his march to Harper's Ferry he had in- 
tensified the panic at Washington, but he had now 
carried out his instructions to the extreme point con- 
sistent with safety. 

The movements of the large bodies of troops which 



JACKSON PASSES BETWEEN TWO ARMIES. 267 

President Lincoln had been for some days urging with 
such haste towards his rear, now demanded his atten- 
tion. Shields was pouring down from the mountain- 
pass to Front Royal to cut him off. The combined 
forces of McDowell and Fremont, which were nearly 
three times that of the Confederates, were hastening 
from opposite directions to intercept his retreat ; and 
once at Strasburg, the way would be barred. From 
the Potomac side the combined forces of Banks and 
Saxton amounted to fourteen thousand men, that 
were ready to close in on his retreat. In this peril- 
ous situation, Jackson decided to occupy Strasburg 
in advance, and to pass swiftly between the two 
principal armies gathering for his destruction. It 
was a case in which supreme audacity was the most 
consummate skill. lie lost no time in escaping 
from the dangers that threatened him — sending for- 
ward his twenty -three hundred prisoners under a 
guard ; then his long trains, many loaded with capt- 
ured stores, followed by his whole army of scarcely 
fifteen thousand men. The march was made without 
molestation, the main body of his troops camping at 
Sti'asburg on the night of the 31st. Of these the 
larger part had marched twenty-five miles the day 
before, and the rear-guard, under General Winder, 
which had kept up a running skirmish with the 
enemy between Harper's Ferry and Winchester, had 
marched thirty-five miles. Thus, in a single day, 
Jackson had put thirty miles Ijetween himself and the 
slow columns of Saxton and Banks, and took position 
directly between the armies of Fremont and McDow- 
ell, which had been sent to crush him. Fremont had 
orders from Mr. Lincoln to enter Strasburg that after- 



268 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

noon, but he stopped several miles short of the town, 
hindered probably by a violent rain-storm ; but, what- 
ever the cause, the result was the loss of all oppor- 
tunity to cut off Jackson's retreat. 

The next morning Fremont made a feeble effort to 
advance, but evidently hesitated to bring down the 
whole of Jackson's force on himself, while uncertain 
that McDowell was in supporting distance. The lat- 
ter, on coming up, said he found " it was too late to 
get ahead of Jackson then." Shields was sent in pur- 
suit in another dii'ection to "head off" Jackson, but 
the latter had gained a day's start, and with his entire 
force continued to retreat towards Hai-risonburg. 

Between Friday morning (when Jackson was in 
front of Harper's Ferry) and Sunday night he had 
marched a distance of between fifty and sixty miles, 
though encumbered with prisoners and captured 
stores, and reached Strasbui-g before either of his ad- 
versaries, having passed safely between them, while he 
held Fremont at bay by a show of force, and blinded 
and bewildered McDowell by the rapidity of his move- 
ments. In order to prevent the pursuit of Shields by 
the Luray Valley, and his "heading off," Jackson de- 
spatched a detachment of cavalry to burn the three 
bridges over the South Fork of the Shenandoah, which 
was effected without opposition. Having taken this 
measure to free himself for the time from one of his 
pursuers, he fell back more leisurely before the other. 

On Monday (June 2) he retreated to Mount Jack- 
son. On this day he wrote his wife these few hurried 
lines : 

" I am again retiring before the enemy. They en- 



MOVES TOWARDS PORT REPUBLIC. 269 

deavored to get in my rear by moving on both flanks 
of ray gallant array, but our God has been ray guide 
and saved me from their grasp. You must not expect 
long letters from me in such busy times as these, but 
always believe that your husband never forgets his 
Mttle darling." 

On the 3d he fell back to New Market. Ashby, 
who had received his commission as brigadier-general 
at Winchester a few days before, was now placed in 
command of all the cavalry, and to him was commit- 
ted the duty of protecting the rear. The Confederates 
were closely followed by Fremont's advance, with 
whom Ashby constantly skirmished, checking them 
whenever they came too near; and by burning the 
bridge over which the Confederates crossed, tlieir ad- 
vance was held back for a day. Jackson continued 
his retreat, and on the 5th reached Harrisonburg. 

Here he changed his line of march, and, leaving the 
valley turnpike, moved in the direction of Port Re- 
public and Brown's Gap. His first care was to pre- 
vent a union of the forces of Fremont and Shields, for 
which he burned the only bridge over the Shenandoah 
by which they could cross, while he held the only 
ready means of communication between them, the 
bridge at Port Republic. By destroying the other 
bridges he had placed a barrier between his two pur- 
suers, and now he occupied the point where their two 
routes converged. No farther to the rear would the 
Shenandoah serve as a barrier to their junction, for 
south of Port Republic its head-waters are easily ford- 
able. General Jackson sent his sick and wounded to 
Staunton, having overcome what was thought an in- 



270 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

surmountable obstacle in having a ferry constructed 
to convey them over the swollen river. 

On the 6th Ashby was attacked by a body of Fre- 
mont's cavalry, under command of Colonel Sir Percy 
TTyndham. an English officer who had taken service 
in the Union army, and now rushed into the fray, 
without sufficient knowledge of the situation, and was 
defeated and taken prisoner with sixty-three of his 
men. As soon as the news of his repulse was received 
at Fremont's headquarters, a strong force was ordered 
forward to hold the farther end of the town and the 
approaches on that side. Ashby, in disposing his troops 
to meet this formidable advance, seemed to the spec- 
tators to be instinct with unwonted animation and 
genius. A fierce combat ensued, in which his horse 
fell; but extricating himself, and springing to his feet, 
he saw his men wavering, and shouted, '• Charge, men ! 
for God's sake charge '." and waved his sword, when a 
bullet pierced him full in the breast, and he fell dead. 
The regiment took up the command of their dying 
general and rushed upon the enemy, pressing them 
back, and pouring volleys into them until they were 
out of musket range. 

The interest attaching to this fight between Jack- 
son's rear-guard and Fremont's advance does not 
grow mainly out of the engagement itself, which was 
comparatively unimportant, but out of the fact that 
it was the occasion of the fall of General Turner 
Ashby, who was truly the ideal of a soldier in whom 
the qualities that excite admiration were united to 
those that win affection and devotion. Insensible to 
danger, the more daring an enterprise the greater was 
its attraction for him. With such qualities were 



DEATH OF GENERAL ASOBY. 271 

united the utmost generosity and unselfishness ; a 
delicacy of sentiment and feeling like a woman's ; and 
a respect for the rights of others which permitted 
within tlie limits of his authority no outrage on 
friend or foe. Says General Jackson in his report : 

" An official report is not an appropriate place for 
more than a passing notice of the distinguished dead ; 
but the close relation which General Ashby bore to 
my command for most of the previous twelve months 
will justify me in saying that, as a partisan officer, I 
never knew his superior. His daring was proverbial, 
his powers of endurance almost incredible, his tone of 
character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive in 
divining the purposes and movements of the enemy." 

After the remains of the young hero had been pre- 
pared for burial in Port Eepublic, General Jackson 
came to the room and requested to see them. He 
was admitted alone, and after remaining for a time 
in silent communion with the dead, came forth with 
a countenance of unusual solemnity and elevation. 
Ashby 's widowed mother lived in Fauquier, but her 
home being now within the Federal lines, she was de- 
nied the comfort of receiving the remains of this, her 
second gallant son who fell in defence of his country. 
He was taken to Charlottesville for temporarj' inter- 
ment. Slowly and sadly the funeral cortege passed 
on its way through that exquisitely beautiful valley. 
The storm of battle even seemed to have ceased out 
of respect for the dead. An escort of tlie brave com- 
rades of Ashby, with bowed heads and solemn mien, 
their arms reversed, accompanied the hearse. Behind 



272 LIf'E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

it came the chieftain's horse and trappings, led by his 
negro servant, whose grief was most demonstrative. 
His personal staff next followed. The whole, as it 
wound along the country road in the broad sunlight 
of a perfect summer day, seemed to recall some rite of 
ancient chivalry ; and surely no braver, truer knight 
was ever borne to a glorious tomb. After the war 
his remains were removed and placed beside those of 
his brother, Captain Richard Ashby, in the " Stone- 
wall Cemetery " at Winchester. 

" Brief, brave, and glorious was his young career ; 

His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes. 
And fitly may the stranger, lingering here, 

Pray for his gallant spirit's briglit repose, 

For he was Freedom's champion ; one of those, 
The few in number, who had not o'erstept 

The charter to chastise which she bestows 
On such as wield her weapons. He had kept 
The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept." 

And now for two days — the 6th and 7th of June — 
Jackson's army enjoyed a sorely needed rest. In the 
twenty -four days that had intervened between the 
time that be had withdrawn from Fremont's front 
at Franklin and his arrival at Port Eepublic, it had 
marched three hundred miles, besides driving Banks 
over the Potomac. Lying on the north side of the 
Shenandoah, along Mill Creek, a few miles in front of 
Port Republic, these exhausted and march-worn men 
refreshed themselves, and at the end of two days were 
as ready as ever for battle. 

Meantime Jackson, having prevented the junction 
of his two opponents by burning the bridges across 
the South Fork of the Shenandoah, below Port Re- 



BATTLE OF PORT REPUBLIC. 273 

public, was preparing to take advantage of their en- 
forced separation. He adapted his strategy to the 
character of the country and the rivers. Fremont 
was equal to Jackson in force, Shields was inferior. 
Together they largely outnumbered him. His effec- 
tive force at this time could not have exceeded thir- 
teen thousand men, and he determined to retreat no 
farther, but to fight them in detail while separated. 
To retire towards Brown's Gap was to allow his 
enemies to unite. To concentrate on the east side at 
once against Shields as the weaker, and burn the 
bridge to keep Fremont back, was to run the risk of 
having the battle-field in the plain on the eastern side 
commanded by Fremont's guns, Avhich would then 
crown the heights on the left bank. While it might 
not thus entirely paralyze Fremont in the struggle 
with Shields, it would certainly prevent Jackson from 
returning in case of success to attack Fremont. The 
Confederate commander therefore took the other 
plan remaining to him, and, having sent off his prison- 
ers to the railroad at Waynesboro' and removed his 
trains to Port Republic, placed his army in position 
on the north side of the river ; General Eweli's divi- 
sion at Cross Keys, half-way on the road to Harrison- 
burg, and Genei'al Winder's division on the heights 
above the bridge along the river. Here artillery was 
at hand to command the town and bridge and plain 
by which Shields must approach. Fremont was weU 
closed up, and his vigorous pursuit of the last few 
days indicated a prompt attack without waiting for 
the co-operation of Shields. The latter was not so 
well up as Fremont, but his advance came within six 
miles of Port Republic on Saturday evening, June 
18 



274 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V. 

7th. Jackson thus took a position where lie might 
receive the attack of Fremont, while it was in the 
power of a small part of his force to hold Shields in 
check. Ilis position, if the latter attempted to attack 
in aid of Fremont, was impregnable. The Federal 
General Tyler thought it " one to defy an army of 
fifty thousand men." Defeat by Fremont would 
have rendered Jackson's condition precarious, but this 
contingency he did not anticipate. His sagacity was 
made manifest, and his strategy approved, by the 
movements of his adversaries. Fremont had failed to 
seize the Confederate line of retreat at Strasburg 
w^hen it was possible, and had permitted Jackson, 
encumbered with prisoners, to pass by him unmo- 
lested. His pursuit of the retreating Confederates 
had emboldened him, and now, having followed them 
over fifty miles farther, he was ready to attack in 
a chosen position the army which he had hesitated 
to fight when hampered by its ti'ains and captures. 
Then McDowell was within reach to aid ; now an im- 
passable river prevented all co-operation. Shields, on 
the other hand, condemned by the burning of the 
bridges to make his toilsome way along the muddy 
roads of the Luray Valley, had halted at Columbia, 
and sent forward his advance brigades to harass Jack- 
son's flank, with orders to go as far as Waynesboro, 
and break the railroad. The mass of Shields's forces 
were known to be miles away, and Jackson's cavalry 
scouts were expected to give timely warning of his 
approach. Jackson had placed his headquarters on 
the southwestern outskirts of the village. 

Sunday morning, June Sth, was bright witii all the 
glorv of summer in the Valley of the Shenandoah. 



BATTLE OF PORT REPUBLIC. 275 

Quiet reigned throughout the Confederate camp, and 
men and animals alike seemed to enjoy the rest, 
■which for a day or two had followed the excessive 
toils and marches of the campaign. Jackson was just 
mounting his horse to ride to the front, when a bold 
and unexpected dash by the enemy opened the fight 
at Port Kepublic itself, and for a few moments threat- 
ened such disaster that Shields sent a despatch to Fre- 
mont saying, " I think Jackson is caught this time." 

Jackson, followed by his staff, rode rapidly through 
the town towards the bridge and his troops stationed 
on the hills around it. The enemy boldly crossed the 
bridge, and rode so quickly into the middle of the 
town as to intercept the two hindmost members of 
Jackson's staff, and make them prisoners ; but both 
were soon released, one by being left in town when 
the Federals subsequently retreated, and the other 
by capturing the soldier in whose care he was placed 
and bringing him back as a prisoner. The enemy 
promptly placed one piece of artillery at the bridge, 
so as to command the approaches to it, and with 
another piece prepared to attack Jackson's train 
lying just outside of the town. Their unexpected ap- 
proach threw teamsters and camp-followers into great 
confusion. But soon a gun from a Confederate bat- 
tery was brought and placed so as to rake the main 
street of the village, and a charge was poured into the 
rear column of Federal troopers, and their movement 
was checked. Meantin^.e Jackson had reached his troops 
nearest the bridge, and ordered three batteries in- 
stantly to the brow of the terrace overlooking the 
river. Taliaferro's brigade, of Winder's division, was 
the nearest infantry. General Taliaferro had them 



276 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

drawn up for inspection. Ordering them forward, 
Jackson placed himself at the head of the leading 
regiment, and the first of Poague's guns that was ready, 
and rushed at a double-quick towards the bridge. At 
the word from Jackson, Poague fired a charge which 
disconcerted the enemy, then followed a volley from 
the infantry, and an immediate charge with the bay- 
onet. In a moment the Federal gunners were down, 
their gun was captured, and the bridge was again in 
Jackson's possession. The Confederates lost two men 
wounded, and the Federals their chance of destroying 
the bridge. Carroll (the Federal colonel), seeing him- 
self attacked from both ends of the village, rode out 
of it as rapidly as he entered it, and in his flight aban- 
doned another piece of aitillery to the Confederates. 
He soon met his infantry coming to his support; 
but the three Confederate batteries were now in posi- 
tion on the blufif on the north side, and they so rained 
fire on all the approaches to the town and bridge 
from the south and east side that any further attempt 
was futile, and Carroll's whole force was obliged to re- 
treat. To avoid the galling fire they moved some 
distance towards the mountain before turning down 
the river. The Confederate batteries followed on the 
bluff, and continued to shell them until they were en- 
tirely out of range, some two and a half miles below. 
The affair had only occupied about one hour, and quiet 
once more succeeded to the noise of battle. 

To guard against any repetition of this attack, 
Jackson now stationed Taliaferro's brigade in the vil- 
lage to hold the fords of South River, and placed the 
Stonewall Brigade on the north side of the main 
river, to observe the enemy and impede by artillery 



BATTLE OF CROSS KEYS. 277 

any renewed advance. The remainder of Winder's 
division was held in reserve to assist Ewell, if need be. 
While these arrangements were being made, the battle 
opened along Swell's front. 

On Saturdaj' evening, Fremont had made a recon- 
noissance, and having found the Confederates in force 
near Cross Keys, gave orders for a general advance 
the next morning. General Ewell selected for his 
position one of the ridges with which the country is 
filled, the Federals occupying a lower parallel ridge. 
Fremont disposed his forces for attack. Blenker's 
division, his left wing, was placed opposite Trimble. 
For a time a spirited fire was maintained between the 
opposing batteries, when the infantry was brought 
into play. General Trimble's brigade met the first 
assault, which it gallantly repulsed, and drove down 
the hill and back into the woods from M'hich they 
advanced. The Confederates awaited another attack, 
but the repulse had been too bloody to invite a speedy 
renewal. Trimble waited a short time, and, perceiving 
no indications of a new advance, determined to move 
against the enemy. Several other regiments joined him 
en route, and after a short and sharp struggle the 
Federals were forced to yield ; the artiller}' limbered 
up and retired ; and in a few minutes their whole left 
wing was retreating towards the position which it held 
before the opening of the battle. Meantime, ililroy 
had advanced against the Confederate centre. A 
fierce artillery duel was here the principal feature of 
the contest. The Confederate batteries were in good 
]>osition, and, in spite of the loss of men and horses 
in some of them, kept up so spirited a fire that no 
serious attempt was made OJi this part of the line. The 



278 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON". 

Federals drove in the Confederate skirmishers and felt 
the lines behind thera, but there was no real attack. 
Thus, at the centre of the contending armies, the 
hours passed in which the fate of the day was being de- 
cided on Blenker's front. Schenck was last to take his 
post in the Federal line. He arrived on the tield at 
one p. ji., and moved in rear and to the right of 
Milroy. to take position to attack the Confederate 
left. General Ewell, seeing the movement of troops 
towards his left, strengthened and extended his line 
on the same flank. This delayed Schenck's aggressive 
movements, and before he was ready to attack in ear- 
nest the battle had been decided bj- the ilefeat of 
Blenker : and Fremont, alarmed by the disaster on his 
left wing, ordered both centre and right to withdraw. 
Ewell, conscious of his inferiority of force, and antici- 
pating an attack from Schenck on his left, had been 
content with the advantages already gained until his 
enemy's purposes were developed. As the Federal 
right and centre withdrew, he followed, pushing for- 
ward his skirmishers and occupying the ground in 
front of the field. Xight was at hand, however, and 
General Ewell liecided to bivouac in the position he 
held rather than risk a night attack on the enemy. 
Thus ended the battle of Cross Keys. Ewell had 
repulsed Fremont so decisively on one wing as to 
]iaralyze his army and to secure all the advantages of 
victory. This had been done, too, with but a small 
part of the force at command. The losses were great- 
ly disproportioned, Ewell's being but two hundred and 
eighty-seven, while that of Fremont was six hundred 
and sixty-four. 

During this engagement the advance force of 



PREPARING FOR A FRESH ATTACK. 279 

General Shields continued quiet on the east side of 
the river. Jackson, emboldened by his slowness to 
advance, and the easy repulse of Fremont, conceived 
the bold design of attacking his two opponents in 
succession the next day, with the hope of overwhelm- 
ing them separately. For this purpose he directed 
that during the night a temporary bridge, composed 
simply of planks laid upon the running-gear of wagons, 
should be constructed over the South Eiver at Port 
Eepublic, and ordered Winder to move his brigade at 
dawn across both rivers and against Shields. Ewell 
was directed to leave Trimble's brigade and part of 
Patton's to hold Fremont in check, and to move at 
an early hour to follow Winder. Taliaferro's brigade 
was left in charge of the batteries along the river, 
and to protect Trimble's retreat if uecessar3^ In case 
of an easy victory over Shields in the morning, Jack- 
son proposed to return to the Harrisonburg side of 
the river and attack Fremont in the afternoon. In 
case, however, of delay, and a vigorous advance on 
Fremont's part, Trimble was to retire by the bridge 
into Port Republic, and burn it to prevent his an- 
tagonist from following. Jackson superintended in 
person the construction of the foot-bridge over South 
Eiver, and before five o'clock in the morning Winder 
was already crossing. After two brigades had crossed, 
Jackson moved at once against the Federals at Lewis- 
ton, leaving orders for the remaining troops to follow 
as rapidly as possible. The foot-bridge proving defec- 
tive, a good deal of time was lost in getting the troops 
over. Impatient of delay, Jackson, without waiting 
for the remainder of his forces, ordered an attack, as 
soon as Winder had come up, upon Tyler, whose 



280 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

position was an admirable one, on the second terrace 
from the Shenandoah. The ground held by his left 
and centre was elevated, and commanded all the avail- 
able approaches from Port Eepublic. Here he had 
six guns planted. A dense and almost impenetrable 
forest protected his fiank, and made all direct ap- 
proach to it difficult, while the batteries there placed 
covered a large part of the front and enfiladed 
Winder's advance. In this position General Tvler 
disposed his force. He seems, though on the alert, 
not to have been aware of Jackson's rapid approach 
until the latter was deploying in his front, but he 
was altogether ready to meet the attack. Winder de- 
ployed his skirmishers, and, advancing on both sides 
of the road, drove in the outposts. He soon found 
that the Federal batteries commanded the road and 
its vicinity completely. Jackson then directed him 
to send a force to his right through the woods to 
turn the Federal left flank. Winder, with less than 
twelve hundred men, found himself unable to cope 
with the force before him, and sent to Jackson for 
reinforcements, which the latter hurried forward as 
fast as possible. A most determined and stubborn 
conflict now took place. Jackson, finding the resist- 
ance of the enemy so much more obstinate than he 
had expected, and that his first attacks had failed, 
determined to concentrate his Avhole force and give 
up all intention of recrossing the river. He there- 
fore sent orders to Trimble and Taliaferro to leave 
Fremont's front, move over the bridge, burn it, and 
join the main body of the army as speedily as pos- 
sible. Meanwhile the bloody work went on, the 
Federals for a time proving the victors ; but a rein- 



THE LOSSES 0\ BOTH SIDES. 281 

forcement to the Confederate batteries in aid of the 
infantry enabled them to cany their position, and 
capture five of the enemy's guns. The Federals had 
made a most gallant fight, both with their guns and 
to save them, but they could not resist the combined 
attack. They were pushed back at every point, and 
were soon in full retreat. Not a moment too soon had 
they yielded the field, for the remainder of Jackson's 
force was arriving, and in a short time they must have 
been entirely overwhelmed. Colonel Carroll, who 
covered the Federal rear, says : " As soon as we com- 
menced the retreat, the enemy turned and opened 
upon us portions of Clark's and Huntington's bat- 
teries that they had taken from us, which threw the 
rear of our column in great disorder, causing them to 
take to the woods and making it, for the earlier part 
of the retreat, apparently a rout. . . . Their cavalry 
also charged upon our rear, increasing the confusion." 
The Confederate infantry pressed the enemy for sev- 
eral miles, and the cavalry followed three miles more. 
About four hundred and fifty prisoners, a few wag- 
ons, one piece of abandoned artillery, and eight hun- 
dred muskets were the trophies of the pursuit. Some 
two hundred and seventy-five of the Federal wounded 
were paroled in the hospitals near the battle-field. 
About two hundred others were carried off. 

In the series of engagements on the 6th, 8th, and 
9th of June the losses were : 

CONFEDEBATE. FkHKRAL. 

On June 6 70 Over 155 

" 8 287 704 (including Carroll's). 

" 9 816 Say 916 

1173 1775 



282 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

During the forenoon Fremont had advanced against 
Trimble on the north side of the river, and was driv- 
ing him slowly back, when the latter was ordered to 
rejoin Jackson at Lewiston. He, with Taliaferro, 
then withdrew as rapidly as possible, crossed the 
bridge without loss, and succeeded in burning it in 
the face of the advancing Federals. Fremont's army 
arrived on the heights overlooking Lewiston only in 
time to witness the retreat of Tyler, and were pre- 
vented by the river from giving him any assistance. 

Next day the Confederates rested in camp. Ex- 
hausted nature demanded repose, and Jackson now 
gave it to his tired and battle-worn ti'oops. Both 
Shields and Fremont continued to retreat down the 
valley. " Significant demonstrations of the enemy," 
as Fremont expressed it, caused him to withdraw far- 
ther, and he joined Banks and Sigel at Middletown, 
while Jackson moved out from his confined bivouac, 
and camped in the noble park-like forest between 
Weyer's Cave and Mount Meridian. Here for five 
days of that splendid June he rested and refreshed his 
army. On the 13th he issued this order: "The forti- 
tude of the troops under fatigue and their valor in 
action have again, under the blessing of Divine Provi- 
dence, placed it in the power of the commanding gen- 
eral to congratulate them upon the victories of June 
8th and 9th. Beset on both flanks by two boastful 
armies, you have escaped their toils, inflicting success- 
ively crushing blows upon each of your pursuers. Let 
a few more such efforts be made, and you may confi- 
dently hope that our beautiful valley will be cleansed 
from the pollution of the invader's presence. Tlie 
major-general commanding invites you to observe to- 



THE LORD'S SUPPER IN CAMP. 283 

morrow, June 14tb, from three o'clock p. m., as a sea- 
son of thanksgiving, by a suspension of all military 
exercises, and by holding divine service in the several 
regiments." The next day, being the Sabbath, the 
Lord's Supper was administered in a woodland grove, 
nature's own great temple, to a large company of 
Christian soldiers from all the army, with whom their 
general took his place, and received the sacred em- 
blems from the hands of a regimental chaplain. 

The following extracts are from letters to his wife : 

"Near Port Republic, June 10th. 
" On Sunday, the 8th, an attack was made upon us 
by a part of Shields's command about seven o'clock 
A. M., which a kind Providence enabled us to repulse. 
During the same morning Fremont attacked us from 
the opposite side, and after several hours' fighting he 
also was repulsed. Yesterday morning I attacked that 
part of Shields's force which was near Port Eepublic, 
and, after a hotly contested field from near six to ten 
and a half a. m., completely routed the enemy, who 
lost eight pieces of artillery during the two days. 
God has been our shield, and to His name be all the 
glory. I sent you a telegram yesterday. How I do 
wish for peace, but onlj^ upon the condition of our 
national independence !" 

" Near Weyer's Cave, June 14th. 
" When 1 look at the locality of the cave, I take ad- 
ditional interest in it from the fact that my esjposita 
was there once. . . . Our God has again thrown his 
shield over me in the various apparent dangers to 
which I have been exposed. This evening we have 



284: LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

religious services in the army for the purpose of ren- 
dering thanks to the Most High for the victories with 
which He has crowned our arms, and to offer earnest 
prayer that He will continue to give us success, until, 
through His divine blessing, our independence shall be 
established. Wouldn't you like to get home again 'T 

The battles of Cross Keys and Port Eepublic closed 
the Valley Campaign of 1S02. Brilliant as were the 
achievements of General Jackson during the succeed- 
ing months of his too brief career, it was his Valley 
Campaign which lifted him into great fame ; nor do 
any of his subsequent achievements show more strik- 
ingly the characteristics of his genius. Within forty 
days he had marched four hundred miles ; fought four 
pitched battles, defeating four separate armies, with 
numerous combats and skirmishes; sent to the rear 
three thousand five hundred prisoners ; killed and 
wounded a still larger number of the enemy, and de- 
feated or neutralized forces three times as numerous 
as his own upon his proper theatre of war, besides 
keeping the corps of McDowell inactive at Fredericks- 
burg. 

From the rapidity of his forced marches, Jackson's 

soldiei's were sometimes called his " foot - cavalry." 

The}^ sometimes marched twenty-five, thirty, and even 

thirty-five miles a day ! A Northern writer said that 

>" Jackson moved infantry with the celerity of cavalry. 

/His men said he always marched at 'early dawn,' e.x- 

Vcept when />e started the v'njht hefore; but despite all 

/ these ' hardships, fatigues, and dangers,' says one of 

the 'foot-cavalry,' 'a more cheerful, genial, jolly set 

could not be found than were these men in gray.' " 



"STONEWALL JACKSON'S WAY." 285 

They indulged in jokes ad lihitum at the expense of 
each other, their indefatigable leader, and the Yankees. 
They declared that General Jackson was far greater 
than Moses. " Moses," they said, " took forty years 
to lead the Israelites through the wilderness, with 
manna to feed them on ; ' old Jack ' would have 
double-quicked through it on half rations in three 
days." General Banks was dubbed by them "Jack- 
son's commissary-general," and whenever the head of 
their column turned down the valley, the jest ran 
along the lines, "Lee is out of rations again, and Jack- 
son is detailed to call on the 'commissary -general.'" 

It was a stirring life the soldiers led in those days of 
the war ! Warm friendships sprang up among com- 
rades who stood in the ranks together and shared the 
same privations and dangers. Besides these personal 
attachments among officers and soldiers, that which 
held the whole army together was its devotion to its 
commander, who shared the privations of the common 
soldier, the fatigues of the march, and the dangers of 
battle. All had such confidence in his genius for com- 
mand that they felt sure of victory where he led the 
way. This confidence is expressed in the rough verses 
of one of his soldiers, which must have had a stirring 
effect when read or sung after a long day's march, as 
the men sat round their camp fires. Then, like a 
bugle, rang out the lines of 

" Stonewall Jackson's Way. 

"Come, stack arms, men; pile on the rails; 
Stir up the camp-fiies biiolit ; 
No matter if the canteen fails, 
We'll make a roaring nicrht. 



286 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Here Sbenaiuloah brawls along, 
There lofty Blue Ridge echoes strong, 
To swell the Brigade's roaring song 
Of Stonewall Jackson's way. 

"We see liim now — the old slouched hat, 
Cocked o'er his eye askew ; 
The shrewd dry smile, the speech so pat, 

So calm, so blunt, so true. 
The ' Blue-liglit Elder " knows them well : 
Says he, 'That's Banks — he's fond of shell; 
Lord save his soul ! we'll give him — ' well, 
That's Stonewall Jackson's way. 

"Silence! ground arms! kneel all! caps off! 
Old Biue-light's going to pray; 
Strangle the fool that dares to scoff! 

Attention ! it's his way ! 
Appealing from his native sod 
In forma pauperis to God, 
'Lay bare Thine arm — stretch forth Thy rod, 
Amen !' That's Stonewall's way. 

"He's in the saddle now! Fall in! 
Steady, the whole Brigade ! 
Hill's at the Ford, cut off! — we'll win 

His way out, ball and blade. 
What matter if our shoes are worn ? 
What matter if our feet arc torn? 
Quick step ! we're with him before morn ! 
That's Stonewall Jackson's way. 

"The sun's bright lances rout the mists 
Of morning — and, by George! 
There's Longstreet struggling in the lists, 

Hemmed in an ugly gorge. 
Pope and his columns whipped before — 
'Bayonets and grape!' hear Stonewall roar; 
' Charge, Stuart ! pay off Ashby's score !' 
That's Stonewall Jackson's way. 



GENERAL EWELL. 287 

"Ah! maiden, wait and watch and yearn 
For news of Stonewall's band ; 
Ah ! widow, read with eyes that burn, 

That ring upon thy hand. 
Ah ! wife, sew on, pray on, hope on; 
Thy life shall not be all forlorn. 
The foe had better ne'er been born 

Than get in Stonewall's way !" 

The gallant General Ewell proved a faithful coad- 
jntor to General Jackson in all their arduous opera- 
tions together. AVhen asked once what he thought of / 
the latter's generalship in this campaign, he replied, in/ 
his brusque, impetuous manner : " Well, sir, when he\ 
commenced it I thought him crazy ; before he ended ) 
it I thought him inspired." Ewell was not a religion^ 
man at the beginning of the war, but the influence 
of Jackson's example was blest to his conversion, as 
the following well-authenticated fact will prove : "At 
a council of war one night, Jackson had listened very 
attentively to the views of his subordinates, and asked 
until the next morning to present his own. As they 
came away, A. P. Hill laughingly said to Ewell, 'Well, 
I suppose Jackson wants time to pray over it.' Hav- 
ing occasion to return soon afterwards to get his 
sword which he had forgotten, Ewell found Jackson 
on his knees, and heard his ejaculatory prayers for 
God's guidance in the perplexing movements then 
before them, by which he was so deeply impressed, 
and by Jackson's general religious character, that 
he said: 'If that is religion, I must have it;' and in 
making a profession of faitii not long after, he at- 
tributed it to the influence of General Jackson's ex- 
ample." 



288 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Still more striking is the testimony to Jackson's de- 
vout habits by his colored servant Jim, who said that 
he could always tell when there was going to be a bat- 
tle. Said he : '' The general is a great man for pray- 
ing, night and morning — all times. But when I see 
him get up several times in the night besides, to go off 
and pray, then I know there is goin^ to he something to 
pay ; and I go straight and pack his haversack, be- 
cause I know he will call for it in the morning." 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE RICHMOND CAMPAIGN— 1862. 

While we leave the brave little army of General 
Jackson luxuriating in a rest among the grand old 
woods and green valleys of the Shenandoah, a brief 
glance will be given at the operations of the two con- 
tending armies around Eichmond. For months the 
government at Washington had been concentrating 
its energies upon the capture of the Confederate capi- 
tal. General McClellan, with a large army splendidly 
equipped, had intrenched and fortified himself upon 
the approaches to the city, and, aided by a fleet of 
gun-boats in the James Eiver, was marching up from 
the Peninsula, while McDowell, with his corps, was 
advancing from Fredericksburg to join him. 

To oppose this great movement, General Johnston 
had, earl}' in April, transferred his army from Ma- 
nassas to the Peninsula, but in consequence of greatly 
inferior numbers was compelled to fall back before 
the advance of the Northei'n army, not, however, with- 
out resisting and inflicting heavy losses. On the 5th 
of May a battle was fought at Williamsburg; but 
Johnston continued to retreat until he finally settled 
down with his army between Richmond and the 
Chickahominy. As the Federals began to cross that 
stream on the 31st of May, he attacked them, and a 
fierce contest encued, lasting from two o'clock until 
19 



2y0 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

nightfall, and, as he reports, " drove them back to the 
' Seven Pines,' more than two miles through their 
own camps, and from a series of intrenchments, and 
repelled every attempt to recapture them with great 
slaughter." In this battle he was wounded so se- 
riously that he was unable to resume command, and 
his place was filled by General liobert E. Lee, who 
thus became the commander-in-chief of all the South- 
ern armies. President Davis was also upon the ground, 
giving his counsel and aid. The gallant and dashing 
General J. E. B. Stuart, called from his initials " Jeb " 
Stuart, had, in obedience to General Lee's orders, 
made a raid with his cavalry force of twelve hundred 
men, and some light artiller}', around the whole cir- 
cuit of the Federal lines — a perilous undertaking, but 
from which he returned in safety, having thus ascer- 
tained the position and strength of the enemy. This 
was one of the most daring and brilliant exploits of 
the war, and won, both from friends and foes, great 
distinction for Stuart and his gallant troopers. 

And now comes in the part of Jackson, who, after 
his victory at Winchester in May, had requested to 
be reinforced, saying : " I should have forty thousand 
men, and with them I would invade the North ;" to 
which General Lee's replv was : '' But he must help 
me to drive these people away from Richmond first." 
Thus, with his keen military sagacity, he had already 
formed the design to concentrate the army of Jack- 
son with his own, and take the aggressive against 
McClellan. However, in order to deceive the enemy, 
it was necessary to mask Jackson's removal from the 
Valley ; and a reinforcement of seven thousand men 
was sent as far as Staunton as a blind, and then 



THE RICHMOND CAMPAIGN. 291 

marched back with Jackson's array. The enemy in the 
Valley was deceived with equal adroitness, and Jack- 
son's sudden march over the mountains was a com- 
plete surprise to friends as \vell as foes — not a man in 
his own army knowing where it was going as it took 
up its march from Mount Meridian on the 17th of 
June. After accompanying his troops to within fifty 
miles of Richmond, he placed them in command of 
General Ewell, and rode express, witii a single courier, 
to the city to confer with General Lee. On leaving 
his camp on this occasion, he met with a pleasing 
evidence of the faithfulness of one of his pickets, 
who, not knowing him, refused to let him pass ! The 
general pleaded that he was an officer on military 
business, but without avail; then that he was an officer 
bearing important intelligence to General Lee, but 
the man still protested, saying he had special orders 
from Jackson not to pass either soldiers or citizens. 
He agreed, however, to call the captain of the guard, 
who, on coming forward, recognized his general, and 
at once let him pass. He did not go, however, with- 
out warmly commending the fidelity of the sentinel- 
soldier for his strict obedience to orders. 

After a full conference with General Lee, Jackson 
the next day returned to his command, and conveyed 
it safely to Ashland on the evening of June 25th, 
from which he was directed to march and turn the 
enemy's works at Mechanicsville, where he had a 
powerful reserve intrenched. On reaching Ashland, 
Jackson encountered unexpected difficulties in the 
way of burned bridges and the handling of a part of 
his army by inexperienced subordinates, which caused 
much delay. Under the stress of his great anxiety and 



292 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

heavy responsibilities, he gave not one moment to 
rest or sleep during the night, but devoted the whole 
of it to the most energetic preparations and to lyraijer. 
Soon after sunrise the next morning, his army was 
put in motion, and in its march met at each cross- 
road the vigilant cavalry of Stuart, that gradually 
covered his left ; and by the afternoon Jackson was 
abreast of the enemy's right flank at Mechanicsville. 
Here A. P. Hill's division* had been in position be- 
fore the enemy's works for some hours, and was only 
waiting for Jackson's support to make an attack. At 
the sound of the hitter's guns, which told that he was 
approaching, Hill swept forward, and drove the 
enemy out of the little village, and down the Chicka- 
hominy into tlieir strong intrenchments on its eastern 
bank. In their impetuosity to drive them out of this 
position, the Confederates would not wait until Jack- 
son's advance could turn their flank, but attacked 
them that evening on their left. A furious cannon- 
ade opened on both sides, and after a severe fight the 
Confederates failed to dislodge the enemy from their 
works, and slept that night upon their arms. This 
was the beginning of the seven days' battles around 
Richmond. 

The bearing of the soldiers in this crisis was not 
more worthy of admiration than the calmness of the 
peo]ile. Dr. Dabney says : 



* It is taken for granted that most readers know that there were 
two generals by the name of Hill in the Confederate army — A. P. 
Hill, of Virginia, and D. H. Hill, of North Carolina. Both were 
very distinguished officers. The latter was a brother-in-law of 
Stonewall Jackson. 



THE SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES. 293 

" The demeanor of the citizens of Richmond showed 
their courage, and their faith in their leaders and 
their cause. For many weeks the Christian people 
had given themselves to praj'er ; and the}' drew from 
Heaven a sublime composure. The sj^ectator, passing 
through the streets, saw the people calmly engaged 
in their usual avocations, or else wending their way 
to the churches, while the thunder of cannon shook 
the city. The young people promenaded the heights 
north of the town, and watched the distant shells 
bursting against the sk3\ As the calm summer even- 
ing descended, the family groups were seen sitting 
upon their door-steps, where mothers told their chil- 
dren at their knees how Lee and his heroes were 
driving away the invaders." 

At dawn on the morning of the 27th, the contest 
between the Federal artillery and that of A. P. Hill 
was resumed ; but perceiving the divisions of Jack- 
son approaching their rear, the enemy retreated down 
the Chickahominy towards Cold Harbor, burning and 
deserting vast quantities of army stores. General 
Lee directed Jackson to proceed to Cold Harbor with 
D. H. Hill, and strike their line of retreat. Not 
knowing the country, Jackson was misled into taking 
the wrong road, and had to retrace his march, thus 
losing an hour of precious time, while the cannonad- 
ing told that the battle was thickening in front, and 
there was danger that he might be too late to fulfil 
his order. But he maintained his calmness and com- 
posure, and when this fear was suggested to him, he 
replied : " No, let us trust that the providence of 
God will so overrule it that no mischief shall result." 



294 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

The event proved that his confidence was not mis- 
taken, for by this dehiy D. II. Hill was enabled to 
meet him precisely at the appointed time and place. 
"While A. P. Hill was fightino: ag^ainst overwhelraing 
numbers, Jackson, with D. II. Hill, advanced under 
the hottest fire, and for several hours continued the 
combat with wavering fortunes. The battle was a 
hardly contested one ; but the Confederates, after 
making the most stubborn resistance, and stoutly 
holding every inch of ground they had won, at last 
won the day. The faithful Stonewall Brigade, under 
General Winder, with D. II. liiU's command, made 
brilliant charges ; and, with simultaneous successes 
upon other parts of the field, the whole wing of the 
Federal array, with its reinforcements, was forced back 
into the swamps of the Chickahoininy. 

During this terrible day, while the issue was in 
suspense, Jackson was seen to show unwonted excite- 
ment, riding restlessly to and fro, despatching mes- 
sengers to each of his division commanders with this 
sharp command : " Tell them this affair must hang 
in suspense no longer; siveej) the field with the bay- 
onet F'' But before his messages were received, the 
ringing cheers rising from every side out of the smok- 
ing woods relieved his anxiety, and told him that the 
day was won. The next morning there was not a 
Federal soldier north of the Chickahorainy. In Jack- 
son's official report of the battle, he thus describes 
the part borne by the gallant General Hood and his 
Texans, who were under his command : 

" Advancing through a number of retreating and 
disordered regiments, he came within range of the 



THE SEVEN DATS' BATTLES. 295 

enemy's fire ; who, concealed in an open wood and 
protected by breastworks, poured a destructive fire, 
for a quarter of a mile, into his advancing line, under 
which man}" brave officers and men fell. Dashing on 
with unfaltering step in the face of these murderous 
discharges of canister and musketr}'. General Hood 
and Colonel Laws, at the heads of their respective bri- 
gades, rushed to the charge with a yell. Moving 
down a precipitous ravine, leaping ditch and stream, 
clambering up a difficult ascent, and exposed to an in- 
cessant and deadly fire from the intrenchments, these 
brave and determined men pressed forward, driving 
the enemy from his well-selected and fortified posi- 
tion. In this charge, in which upwards of a thousand 
men fell, killed and wounded, before the face of the 
enemy, and in which fourteen pieces of artillery, and 
nearly a regiment were captured, the Fourth Texas, 
under the lead of General Hood, was the first to 
pierce these strongholds and seize the guns. . . . 
The shouts of triumph which rose from our brave 
men as they, unaided by artillery, had stormed this 
citadel of their sti'ength, were promptly carried from 
line to line, and the triumphant issue of this assault, 
with the well-directed fire of the batteries, and suc- 
cessful charges of Hill and Winder upon the enemy's 
right, determined the fortunes of the cVdy. The Fed- 
erals, routed at every point, and aided by the dark- 
ness of the night, escaped across the Chickahominy." 

The next morning, as General Jackson inspected 
this position and saw the deadly disadvantages under 
which the Texans had carried it, he exclaimed : " These 
men are soldiers indeed !" 



296 I'lFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The Confederates had indeed gained a great victory. 
It now i-eniained to push their success to the utmost. 
To this end Ewell and Stuart were sent to cut off the 
retreat by the York River Railroad, which was eflfected. 
Before retiring, the enemy destroyed a vast amount of 
army stores and burned the residence and farm build- 
ings of General Lee at the White House. The retreat 
down the Peninsula being now cut off, it only remained 
for the Confederate right wing to get between it and 
the James River to complete the success bv the capt- 
ure of the whole Federal army. But the retreat was 
aided by the dense forests and impassable swamps, and 
as the}'^ burned the bridges across the Chickahominy 
as soon as they had crossed them, tliey were able to 
continue their march towards the James. At their 
intrenchments, and in their track, were found desert- 
ed supplies of vast army stores, much of which they 
had attempted to destroy. But, notwithstanding, the 
spoils proved a rich harvest to the Confederates, who 
gained great stores of fixed ammunition, and, besides, 
the suffering country peo])le were supplied with much- 
needed provisions and necessaries. 

McClellan's last intrenchments were at Savage 
Station, where General Magruder made a vigorous 
attack upon his flank and front, and drove him out of 
them near sunset of the 29th. The sound of the com- 
bat put Jackson on the qiti vivc, and as he lay down 
under the open sky for a short rest, he gave orders 
that everything should be ready to move at early 
dawn. At midnight he was awakened by a sudden 
shower, which drenched him so thoroughly that he 
could sleep no more, and he determined to precede his 
troops to the position of Magruder, in order to have 



SLEEPING IN THE RAIN. 297 

time for fuller conference. This was the same gallant 

John Bankhead Magruder under whom Jackson won 

his first laurels as a soldier in Mexico. 

On June 30th General Jackson wrote thus to his 

wife: 

" Near White 0.a.k Sw.\mp Bridge. 

" An ever-kind Providence has greatly blessed our 
efforts and given us great reason for thankfulness in 
having defended Eichmond. To-day the enemy is I'e- 
treating down the Chickahominj' towards the James 
Eiver. Many prisoners are falling into om- hands. 
General D. H. Hill and I are togethei'. I had a wet 
bed last night, as the rain fell in torrents. I got up 
about midnight, and haven't seen much rest since. I 
do trust that our God will soon bless us with an honor- 
able peace, and permit us to be together at home again 
in the enjoyment of domestic happiness. 

" You must give fifty dollars for church purposes, 
and more should you be disposed. Keep an account 
of the amount, as we must give at least one tenth of 
our income. I would like very much to see my dar- 
ling, but hope that God will enable me to remain at 
the post of duty until, in His own good time, He 
blesses us with independence. This going home has 
injured the army immensely." 

After the discomforts of the previous night, when 
his troops came up, he was found dr3Mng himself be- 
fore a camp-fire, but, speedily taking his place at their 
head and moving on, captured at Savage Station a' 
field hospital containing twenty -five hundred sick and 
wounded. Other prisoners fell into his hands at every 
step, until one thousand were sent to the rear. An 



298 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

officer, congratulating him on the great number of his 
captives, said they surrendered too willingly, and that 
their maintenance would be a heavy expense to the 
Confederacy ; but General Jackson answered, with a 
smile, " It is cheaper to feed them than to light them." 
On this day, the 30th, he surprised the enemy by a 
fierce onslaught from his batteries that were in a con- 
cealed position, which drove them rapidly to the rear, 
leaving several pieces of artillery behind them. They 
afterwards rallied, and during the rest of the day an 
artillery duel was ke])t up ; but as each party was in- 
visible to the other, not much damage resulted to either 
side. The White Oak Swamp bridge having been de- 
stroyed, Jackson made an attempt to repair it, so as to 
pursue the enemy ; but when night came, and he saw 
that so little had been accomplished, more wearied 
and depressed than he had ever been seen to be before, 
as he lay down to sleep, he said : " Now, gentlemen, 
let us at once to bed, and rise with the dawn, and see 
if to-morrow we cannot do something .'" 

During that night the Federal forces skilfully with- 
drew from his front and moved to Malvern Hill. At 
an early hour the next morning, July 1st, Jackson put 
his corps in motion and crossed the White Oak Swamp. 
His reconnoissance showed him the enemy strongly 
posted upon an eminence in front of Malvern Hill. In 
short, the whole army of McClellan, which was still 
powerful and well disciplined, was now assembled on 
one field, while the whole Confederate armv was con- 
verging around it, under the immediate eye of the 
general-in-chief and the President. The war of the 
giants was now about to begin. The position of the 
Federals was selected bj- McClellan himself with con- 



BATTLE OF MALVERN' HILL. 299 

summate skill — the ridge commanding all the sur- 
rounding country, and he was also under the protec- 
tion of his gun-boats in the James River. The Con- 
federates labored under the disadvantage of an in- 
ferior position, having also to cross swampy woods 
and a plain, which was exposed to the fire of McClel- 
lan's artillery, and, as they approached his intrench- 
ments, his deadly musketry was equally appalling. 
The Confederate leaders were likewise ignorant of the 
country, which impeded their progress and delayed 
the opening of the battle until late in the afternoon. 
But on it came at last, and raged with the utmost fury 
until night put an end to the conflict. Jackson's 
troops fought with their usual bravery, but he con- 
ceded the laurels of the day to D. H. Hill, who charged 
across the open plain in face of a terrific fire of artil- 
lery, under which his men fell fast. But he was soon 
reinforced by Jackson, and enabled to maintain his 
ground until the veil of darkness intei'posed and mer- 
cifully closed the bloody struggle. At ten o'clock the 
battle died away, when Jackson retired slowly and 
wearily to the rear to seek some refreshment and rest. 
His faithful servant, Jim, prepared a pallet for him on 
the ground, in the midst of a confused multitude of 
wagons and stragglers, and after partaking of some 
food he sank to sleep. At one o'clock he was awak- 
ened by his division commanders, who wished to re- 
ceive instructions for the morning. These officers all 
agreed in the opinion that McClellan would probably 
take the aggressive on the morrow, and were full of 
apprehension as to their ability to resist him. Jack- 
son listened indifferently, asking a few brief questions, 
and said, as if at ease in the matter, " No ; I think he 
will clear out in the morning." 



300 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

His words were prophetic, for when morning 
dawned, with a pouring rain, McClellan was indeed 
gone, leaving behind him the marks of a precipitate 
retreat. The wearied Confederates were permitted 
by the commander-in-chief to rest a day and replen- 
ish the ammunition of their batteries, and had orders 
to move the next day in pursuit. Jackson was most 
impatient to march with the dawn, hurrying off with- 
out breakfast ; but after losing a day, which gave the 
Federals time to reach the shelter of their gun-boats, 
the march proved to be a useless one, and the oppor- 
tunity of capturing the enem^' was gone. 

" The commander-in-chief was disappointed to learn, 
on his arrival in front of the Federals, that no oppor- 
tunity had been found for striking a blow, either on 
their retreat or in their present position. lie immedi- 
ately rode forward with General Jackson, and the two, 
dismounting, proceeded witiiout attendants to make a 
careful reconnoissance on foot of the enemy's whole 
line and position. Jackson concurred fully in the re- 
luctant o])inion to which General Lee was brought by 
this examination — that an attack would now be im- 
proper ; so that after mature discussion it was deter- 
mined that the enemy should be left unassailed to the 
effects of the summer heats and the malaria, which 
were now at hand." 

General Lee, in the close of his report, says : 

" Under ordinary circumstances the Federal army 
should have been destroyed. . . . But regret that more 
was not accomplished gives way to gratitude to the 
Sovereign Euler of the universe forthe results achieved. 
The siege of Eichmond was raised, and the object of 



RESULT OF SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES. 301 

a campaign, which had been prosecuted after months 
of preparation at an enormous expenditure of men and 
money, completely frustrated. More than ten thou- 
sand prisoners — including officers of rank — iifty-two 
pieces of artiller}', and upwards of thirty-live thousand 
stand of small-arms, were captured. The stores and 
sup])lies of every description which fell into our hands 
were great in amount and value ; but small in com- 
parison with those destroyed by the enemy. His 
losses in battle exceeded our own, as attested by the 
thousands of dead and wounded left on every field ; 
while his subsequent inaction shows in what condition 
the survivors reached the protection to which they 
fled." 

After spending a few day» in a much-needed rest 
and in gathering up arms, the Confederate army was 
marched back, on the 8th of July, to the vicinity of 
Richmond. 

A few extracts from Jackson's letters at this time 
will furnish glimpses of iiis varied experiences during 
this memorable week. Thus he writes : 

" When my command arrived at White Oak Swamp 
bridge we found it broken up by the enemy ; but we 
opened upon the Federal artillery, and succeeded in 
securing one of their cannons, four caissons, and one 
battery wagon, in addition to part of a pontoon-bridge 
train and prisoners. Many prisoners have fallen into 
our hands, and they really appear gratified at the idea 
of being taken. I have never seen prisoners so con- 
tented. . . . On Tuesday we had another engage- 
ment, in which General D. H. Hill, with his division, 



302 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

accomplished more than anj^ other part of the army. 
Other troops were sent to support him, but his division 
may be said to have borne the brunt of the battle, and 
he was by far the most distinguished officer engaged 
that day. My position is now about three miles north 
of James Kiver, and twenty - five miles below Rich- 
mond. During the past week I have not been well, 
have suffered from fever and debility, but through 
the blessing of an ever-kind Providence I am much 
better to-day. Last week I received a present of a 
beautiful summer hat from a lady in Cumberland. 
Our Heavenl}' Father gives me friends wherever I 
go. ... It would be delightful to see my darling, but 
we know that all things are ordered for the best." 

The corps reached the neighborhood of Eicbmond 
on the 10th of July, and it was during its stay of a 
few days there that General Jackson made his first 
appearance openly in the city, for the purpose of at- 
tending divine worship on the Sabbath. He thus 
speaks of it in a letter to his wife : 

" Yesterday I heard Rev. Dr. M. D. Hoge preach in 
his church, and also in the camp of the Stonewall 
Brigade. It is a great comfort to have the privilege 
of spending a quiet Sabbath within the walls of a 
house dedicated to the service of God." 

He slipped into the church unattended — quietly and 
modestly took a seat near the door, and, after the ser- 
vices were over, was gone before the congregation was 
aware of his presence. After calling on a mother who 
had lost a son in his command, he returned to his tent. 



"WHAT! STONEWALL JACKSON?" 303 

So great was the modesty of the now famous general 
that he found his greatness embarrassing, and he shrank 
more from pubUc notice and applause. Whenever his 
soldiers caught sight of him, they rent the air with 
their cheers, which he always acknowledged by lifting 
his cap, and then putting spurs to his horse and gal- 
loping awaj^ at the top of his speed. " Little Sorrel " 
seemed to know the signal for this stampede, and per- 
haps it was from these marvellous flights that the 
" foot-cavalry ' ' drew some of their inspiration. "When- 
ever the sound of the " rebel yell" was heard in their 
camp, the soldiers jocularly said, " That's ' old Jack,' 
or a rabbit .'" 

In the movements of the troops around Richmond, 
on one occasion, Jackson and his staff were compelled 
to ride through a field of uncut oats. The owner 
rushed out upon them with great indignation, venting 
his rage specially on the general's devoted head, and 
deraandmg his name " that he might report hira." In 
a quiet tone the name was given. " What Jackson ?" 
asked the farmer. " General Jackson," was the reply. 
"What I" exclaimed the electrified man, as the truth 
dawned upon him — " what ! ' Stonewall ' Jackson ?" 
" That is what they call me." was the answer. Tak- 
ing off his hat with the profoundest respect, and with 
a voice now all kindness and reverence, the man said : 
" General Jackson, ride over my whole field ; do ^A'hat- 
ever you like with it, sir." 

On the 14:th of July, he wrote to his wife from 
Richmond : 

" Again your husband is about leaving his camp. 



304 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Please direct your next letter to Gordonsville, and 
continue to address me there until you hear otherwise. 
Everybody doesn't know the meaning and location of 
' Headquarters, Valley District P " 

During his campaign in the valley he had requested 
that his letters should be directed simply to " Head- 
quarters, Valley District" — his headquarters during 
all that time being principally in the saddle ; but after 
he was transferred to Richmond the inap])ropriate- 
ness of this address amused him, and perhaps caused 
delay and even loss of his letters. Ubiquitous as he 
was during the war, he could not have any one address 
long. About the time of his leaving Richmond, his 
chief of staff, the Eev. Dr. Dabney (who afterwards 
wi'ote his biography) was compelled to resign in con- 
sequence of ill-health. The general wrote : " It was 
with teai'ful eyes that I consented to our separation." 
This officer, by his intelligence and faithfulness, had 
been invaluable to him, not only in his Valley Cam- 
paign, but in the battles around Richmond. In one 
instance, at the battle of Chickahominy, a misconcep- 
tion of Jackson's orders on the part of a messenger 
might have resulted in a fatal error but for the prompt- 
ness and efficiency of the chief of staff, who, compre- 
hending the general's true intentions, and the urgency 
of the occasion, went himself in person and brought 
all into harmonious action, and thus decided the fort- 
unes of the day. 

In a letter to his wife he says : 

" If you will vouch for Joseph's (her brother) being 



ALWAYS KIND TO THOSE WHO DID THEIR DUTY. 305 

an early riser during the remainder of the war, I will 
give him an aide-ship. I do not want to make an 
appointment on my staff except of such as are early 
risers ; but if i/ou will vouch for him to rise regularly 
at dawn, I will offer him the position." 

The youth, Captain J. G. Morrison, was courageous 
enough to accept even on this rigid condition, and 
served the general faithfully until his death, being 
himself twice wounded, the last time losing the whole 
of one foot, except the heel. 

General Jackson was no respecter of persons when 
duty was concerned. On one occasion, when he had 
an early march before him, he so lost his patience with 
the tardiness of his staff in rising that he ordered his 
cook to pack up everything, and to throw away the 
coffee, which had been captured from the enemy and 
was a rare luxury ,■ and he finally threatened to arrest 
the whole staff if they did not get up immediately. 
This had the effect of awakening them thoroughly, 
and doubtless of arousing some ire also against the 
stern and relentless leader, though all who served un- 
der him were ready to say, as one did, that " his kind- 
ness to those who did their duty was like a woman's." 
The attachment of members of his staff to him was 
sincere and strong. They knew he was sterner to 
himself than he was to them, and could never doubt 
his whole-souled and patriotic devotion. I shall never 
forget the intense feeling with which young " Sandy " 
Pendleton (as he was called) said to me the day after 
General Jackson's death, his face bathed in tears: 
" God hiows I would have died for him .'" 
20 



306 LIFE OF GENERAL THOUAS J. JACKSOX. 

This true and gallant officer followed his general to 
the grave in less than a year — slain in battle in his 
youth and promise. He was the only son of the Rev. 
General W. X. Pendleton, of Lexington, and would 
have followed his father s sacred calling if he had 
lived. A tender romance hangs around his memory. 
With his ardent, chivalrous nature, his heart was soon 
captured during the war by a charming young lady, 
near whose home he was stationed for a time in win- 
ter-quarters. He had some rivals among his brother- 
officers, but was successful in winning the prize, and, 
obtaining a furlough, was married, and spent a few 
blissful weeks witli his young bride, when duty called 
him into the field, and they never met again. Many 
were the similar tragedies which the cruel war brought 
to the hearts and homes of the devoted Southern 
women, for even the stern duties of the soldier s life 
did not put a stop to marrying and giving in mar. 
riage ; hence it was tliat there were left so many broken 
hearts and blighted lives. 




JACKSON'S ATTACK ON THE RIGHT WING OP THE FEDERALS AT THE 
BATTLE OF CnAXCELLORSVILLE. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CEDAR RUN AND THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 

After the terrible fatigues of the campaign around 
Richraontl, it was a joyful moment when Jackson and 
his troops received orders (the campaign being over) 
to return to the valley. It was sad to tiiink that they 
should leave thousands of their comrades behind 
them to sleep their last sleep near the city which they 
had given their lives to defend. But they, too, had 
suffered from hardships and exposure. Some were 
just out of the hospital walking on crutches, or with 
their arms in slings ; others had contracted diseases 
as deadly as wounds, but who felt new life from the 
thought of exchanging the swamps of the Chickahom- 
iny for the bracing air of their native mountains. Xo 
one had undergone more exposure tlian their com- 
mander, who had slept on the ground, and had the 
coarse fare of the common soldiers, so that he and 
they Avere alike in the highest spirits when they set 
out on their return march. On the 10th of July they 
reached Gordonsville, from which Jackson writes to 
his wife : 

" I have been staying for a few days with Mrs. 
Barbour, motherin-law of the Rev. Mr. Ewing, of our 
church, and have received much kindness from her 
and her three daughters. My tent opens upon the Blue 



A CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD. 309 

Kidge in the distance. The wagon-train is moving in 
front." 

The society and kindness of this Christian family- 
were exceedingly congenial and refreshing to hira, 
and after the duties of the day were over he spent 
his leisure moments in their home circle, enjoying 
their hosjjitality, and amusing himself with the chil- 
dren of the household. One little girl, in particular, 
he made a special pet of, often taking her upon his knee 
and caressing her until she grew so fond of him that 
she asked him one day to give her as a keepsake one 
of the bright brass buttons from his coat when it was 
worn out. Months afterwards, although burdened 
with the most anxious and weighty cares of an ardu- 
ous campaign, he did not forget the request, and sent 
the promised button, which the delighted child pre- 
served as one of her greatest treasures. 

General Jackson found special pleasure in joining 
Mr. Ewing's household in their family worship, and 
whenever requested would conduct prayers himself. 
Mr. Ewing thus describes these services : " There 
was something very striking in his prayers. He did 
not pray to men, but to God. His tones ^vere deep, 
solemn, tremulous. He seemed to realize that he was 
speaking to Heaven's King. I never heard any one 
pray who seemed to be pervaded more fully by a 
spirit of self-abnegation. He seemed to feel more 
than any man I ever knew the danger of robbing 
God of the glory due for our success." 

After spending a few days at Gordonsville, he 
changed his quarters into the county of Louisa, near 
by, so as to find in that fertile region better pastur- 



310 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

age for his horses. He also wished to be more retired 
and devote his time to reorganizincr his command, and 
getting both men and horses into better condition for 
future service. Just before this move he wrote from 
Gordonsville, on the 28th of July : 

" My darling wife, I am just overburdened with 
work, and I hope you will not tliink hard at receiving 
only very short letters from your loving husband. A 
number of officers are with me, but people keep com- 
ing to my tent — though let me say no more. A 
Christian should never complain. The apostle Paul 
said, ' I glor}'^ in tribulations !' What a bright ex- 
ample for others !" 

After ascertaining that the enemy were in large 
force under General Pope, combining the united com- 
mands of Fremont, Shields, Banks, and McDowell, 
making an army of at least fifty thousand men, Jack- 
son applied to General Lee for reinforcements. The 
division of A. P. Ilill was immediately sent to him, 
and, with this accession to his small army, Jackson 
had no intention of remaining idle or of awaiting an 
attack from so powerful a foe, but determined to strike 
a blow himself before the enemy had time to concen- 
trate all their forces. He therefore advanced tow- 
ards them on the 7th of August. Before taking this 
step, it was observed that he was much in prayer, but 
this was his custom previous to every battle. Even 
upon the field he was often seen to lift his eyes and 
raise his right arm as if in earnest prayer, and some- 
times it seemed that while his soul was thus lifted up 
in supplication, the Lord of hosts heard and answered, 
friving him the victory. 



THE BATTLE OF CEDAR RUN. 311 

Pope's army was gathering in all its strength at 
Culpepper Court-House, and on the 9th of August 
Jackson's little army came in contact with his ad- 
vance-guard about six miles from the Court-House, on 
the borders of a little stream called Cedar Run. Here 
hostilities began by a furious cannonade on both sides, 
lasting two hours, when, about five o'clock in the 
afternoon, the infantr}' of both armies became hotly 
engaged. The conflict was fierce and stubborn, but 
the overwhelming numbers of the enemy swept down 
with such impetuosity that the weaker party were 
forced to yield, and it looked as if it were doomed to 
destructix>n. Ewell, Early, A. P. Hill, Winder, and 
other commanders all fought their bravest and best — 
the gallant Winder i^eceiving a mortal Avound — and 
still they were pressed back. " It was at this fearful 
moment," says his late chief-of-staff. Dr. Dabney, "that 
the genius of the storm reared his head, and in an 
instant the tide was turned. Jackson appeared in the 
mid-torrent of the highway, his face flaming with the 
inspiration of battle : he ordered the batteries which 
Winder had placed to be instantly withdrawn to pre- 
serve them from capture ; he issued his summons for 
his reserves ; he drew his own sword (the first time in 
the war), and shouted to the broken troops with a 
voice which pealed liigher than the roar of battle : 
' Rally, brave men, and press forward ! Your gen- 
eral will lead you ! Jackson will lead you ! Follov/ 
me !' This appeal was not in vain, and the Federals, 
startled by this unexpected rally, were driven from 
the field. They afterwards made an attempt to re- 
trieve the fortunes of the dny, Avhich they had so 
nearly won, by an assault from a magnificent body of 



312 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

cavalry, but even this was repelled, and the troopers 
driven in full retreat." 

That night Jackson bivouacked with his troops. 
Finding every house tilled with the wounded, he de- 
chned to enter, saying the sufferers needed a place for 
rest more than he did. He was so utterly worn out 
that he threw himself upon a grass-plot — one of his 
staff kindly spreading a cloak to add to his comfort 
— and here, underneath the star-lit cano]iy of heaven, 
he found that rest and sleep which his wearied frame 
so much demanded. When offered food his reply was : 
" Wo, I want )vsf, nothing but rest /" 

Two days after the battle he wrote to his wife : 

" On last Saturday our God again crowned our 
arms with victory, about six miles from Culjiepper 
Court-House. I can hardly think of the fall of Brig- 
adier-General C. S. Winder without tearful eyes. 
Let us all unite more earnestly in imploring God's 
aid in fighting our battles for us. The tliought that 
there are so many of God's jieople praying for His 
blessing upon the army greatly strengthens and en- 
courages me. The Lord has answered their pra3'ers, 
and my trust is in Him, that He will continue to do 
so. If God be for us, who can be against us ? That 
He will still be with us and give us victory until our 
independence shall be established, and that He will 
make our nation that people whose God is the Lord, 
is my earnest and oft -repeated prayer. While we 
attach so much imjjortance to being free from tem- 
poral bondage, we must attach far more to being free 
from the bondage of sin." 



THE DEATH OF GENERAL WINDER. 313 

This battle of Cedar Eun Jackson himself pro- 
nounced the most successful of his exploits. But he 
announced it to his commander-in-chief, General Lee, 
in these devout and modest terms : 

" August 11th, 6.30 A. M. On the evening of the 
9th, God blessed our arms with another victor3\ The 
battle was near Cedar Kun, about six miles from 
Culpepper Court -House. The enemy, according to 
statements of prisoners, consisted of Banks's, McDow- 
ell's, and SigeFs commands. We have over four hun- 
dred prisoners, including Brigadier -General Price. 
Whilst our list of killed is less than that of the enemy, 
we have to mourn the loss of some of our best officers 
and men. Brigadier-General Charles S. Winder was 
mortall}" wounded whilst ably discharging his duty at 
the head of his command, which was the advance of 
the left wing of the army. We have collected about 
fifteen hundred small-arms and other ordnance stores." 



In his official report, he pays this tribute to the 
ite commander 
General Winder ; 



late commander of the Stonewall Brigade, the brave 



" It is difficult within the proper reserve of an offi- 
cial report to do justice to the merits of this accom- 
plished officer. Urged bv the medical director to take 
no part in the movements of the day, because of the 
enfeebled state of his health, his ardent patriotism and 
military jiride could bear no such restraint. Richly 
endowed with those qualities of mmd and person 
which fit an officer for command, and which attract 
the admiration and excite the enthusiasm of troops, 



I 



314 LU'E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

he was rapidly rising to the front rank of his profes- 
sion. His loss has been severely felt." 

The report closes as follows : 

" In order to render thanks to Almighty God for 
the victory at Cedar Kun, and other victories, and 
to implore His continued favor in the future, divine 
service was held in the array on the 14th of August." 

In this battle the Confederates had bet^veen eigh- 
teen and twenty thousand men engaged, while the 
Federals, according to their own returns, had thirty- 
two thousand. Jackson, however, had one incalcu- 
lable advantage over the enemy, which he gained by 
his promptitude in seizing and holding Slaughter's 
Mountain — an elevation which commanded all the 
surrounding plains, and enabled him to overlook the 
whole scene of action as it lay beneath him, and to 
pour down the volleys of his artillery upon the foe, 
while his own gunners were secure from a returning 
fire, in consequence of the elevation of their position. 
It was to the advantage of this position as weU as 
the bravery of his troops that he was indebted for his 
complete success. 

By this victory Pope received such a blow that he 
was deterred from making another advance until lie 
could gather reinforcements. Burnside's corps was 
withdrawn from North Carolina and sent on to Cul- 
pepper Court-House, and it was believed that McClel- 
lan's remaining forces would be recalled from James 
River and sent also to swell the ranks of the grand 
"Army of Virginia," as the command of Pope was 



OUTLOOK FROM THE TOP OF CLARKE'S JIOUNTALV. 315 

called. At all events, General Lee was convinced 
that McClellan was incapable of further aggression, 
and that the most effective way to dislodge hira fi'om 
the Peninsula was to threaten Washington ! He 
therefore determined to move his army from Rich- 
mond to Gordonsville. He began his march on the 
13th, and four days after, on the 17th, McClellan 
evacuated the Peninsula and removed his troops to 
the Potomac. 

On the 15th, as soon as the troops from Pich- 
mond began to arrive, Jackson left Gordonsville, and 
marched to the base of Clarke's Mountain, on a peak 
of which he had established a signal station, which 
commanded a view of the enemy's encampment along 
the Orange Railroad. After General Lee joined him, 
with their united forces he was most impatient to 
push on in pursuit of the enemy on the 18th, and cut 
off his line of retreat ; but General Lee, owing to the 
dilatoriness of a part of his subordinates, deemed it 
best to restrain Jackson's impetuosity, and ])ostponed 
the advance until the 20th, to give his troops more 
time for preparation. By this delay the success of 
Jackson's desio-n was frustrated, for on the night 
of the 18th the Federals obtained information from 
a party of colored deserters from the Confederate 
camp which so alarmed them that the next day, 
when Genei'al Lee ascended Clarke's Mountain to 
take a look at their encampment, he saw their tents 
gi'adually disappearing, and the work went steadily 
on until the whole of Pope's vast army " folded their 
tents like the Arabs, and silently stole away !" The 
object of Pope was to place the Rappahannock be- 
tween himself and his pursuers. General Lee now 



316 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

hastened to pursue, and at an early hour on the 
morning of the 20th the whole Confederate army 
was put in motion. General Stuart's splendid division 
of cavalry, with its usual daring, dashed across the 
Eappahannock, and after skinnishing a few hours 
and capturing some ])risoners, returned to report 
Pope's whole army massed ujion the northern bank 
of the Eappahannock, with a powerful artillery pre- 
pared to dispute the passage of General Lee. His 
position on that side of the river was far more safe 
and defensible than when Jackson proposed to attack 
him on the ISth. General Lee now ordered Jackson 
to cross the Rappahannock high up, and by a forced 
march go to Manassas and get in Pope's rear. Other 
divisions were sent to Pope's front, and the two hos- 
tile armies marched along on either side of the stream, 
opening fire upon each other whenever the opportunity' 
offered. Jackson continued his march up stream until 
he reached Warrenton Springs, on the 22d, where he 
found the bridge destroyed, but he passed Early's bri- 
gade over on a mill-dam, and took possession of the 
Springs. Before other troo])s could be crossed to his 
support, a sudden and heavy rain -fall swelled the 
river so as to render it impassable, and Early was 
thus cut off from his friends and surrounded by the 
enemy. His situation was one of extreme peril, but he 
managed to conceal his troops in the woods, and hold his 
foes at bay with artillery, until Jackson had construct- 
ed a temporary bridge, and by the dawn of the morn- 
ing of the 24th the gallant Early, with his command, 
had recrossed the river without the loss of a man. 

While a fierce artillery duel was going on across 
the river between A. P. Hill and the enemy, Jack- 



GETTIXG BETWEEN POPE AND WASHINGTON. 317 

son left the river-bank a few miles, and marched to 
the village of Jeffersonton. He was thus lost sight 
of by the Federals, and to Longstreet was given 
the task of amusing Pope by the appearance of a 
crossing at A\^arrenton Springs. Jackson was now 
preparing to obey Lee's order to separate himself 
from the rest of the army, pass around Pope to 
the westward, and place his corps between him and 
Washington at Manassas Junction. Leaving behind 
him all his trains, except ambulances and carriages 
for ammunition, and making a hasty issue of rations, he 
started from Jeffersonton early on the morning of the 
25th of August. On that day he wrote a hurried note 
to his wife, not alluding to his movements, but saying : 

" The enemy has taken a position, or rather several 
positions, on the Fauquier side of the Eappahannock. 
I have only time to tell you how much I love my 
little pet dove." 

Although his troops had been constantly marching 
and fighting for five days, and subsisting upon insuffi- 
cient rations, supplemented by the green corn of the 
fields along their route, j^et they did not lose their 
entliusiasm and devotion to their indefatigable leader. 
Towards the close of the day he had gone in ad- 
vance of the column, and, dismounting, had stepped 
upon a large stone by the roadside, probably to in- 
spect his army as they passed by. As he stood upon 
this elevation, with uplifted cap, the sunset glow ir- 
radiating his noble face and figure, his men, as they 
caught sight of him, began to cheer, but he quickly 
indicated by a gesture that silence must be preserved, 



B18 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

in order not to betray their presence to the enemy. 
Down the cohiinn were passed the words, " No 
cheering, boys; the general requests it," and the com- 
mand was instantly obeyed ; but as the soldiers passed 
their general, they waved their caps in the air, and 
their eyes bespoke the cheer which their lips had 
been forbidden to utter. As the columns marched by 
in this loyal and devoted spirit, General Jackson 
turned to his staff, with a face beaming with pleasur- 
.able emotion, and exclaimed: "Who could not con- 
quer with such troops as these ?" 

Thus always, whatever his army achieved, his mod- 
esty led him to ascribe it to his Ijrave men, feeling 
himself to be but an humble instrument in the hand 
of God. 

With such a leader to inspire them, Jackson's corps 
marched fifty miles in two daj's, capturing all their 
supplies from the enemy, and reached Bristow Station, 
by which they accomplished their object, that of 
placing themselves between Pope and Washington — 
a perilous position, as they were now cut off from 
General Lee, with the whole of Pope's army in their 
front. General Stuart, with his cavalry, was guard- 
ing the right flank, and his promptness and efficienc}'^ 
were invaluable to Jackson, enabling him to carry out 
his plans of secrecy and rapidity of movement. Upon 
arriving at Bristow Station, the first object of Jackson 
was to get possession of the vast stores of the enemy 
at Manassas Junction, four miles farther north. So 
much did he realize this necessity that he determined 
to press on that night, and not to wait until morning, 
and thus give the enemy time to destroy the stores. 
So completely were his brave soldiers in sympathy 



CAPTURE OF ARMY STORES. 319 

with him that General Trimble, with his -Twenty-first 
Korth Carolina and Twenty-tirst Georgia regiments, 
volunteered for this service, and, supported by a de- 
tachment of Stuart's cavalry, with Stuart himself in 
command of the whole, the work was undertaken, 
and resulted in complete success. The Confederates 
captured all the vast stores, consisting of every- 
thing which their army needed, took several hundred 
prisoners, two hundred and fifty horses, with im- 
mense commissary and quartermaster's supplies. To 
this disaster Pope ascribed his defeat in the three 
days' sanguinary struggle which ensued upon the 
jjlains of Manassas, alleging that his army had been 
compelled to fight without sufficient rations and am- 
munition. 

On the morning of the 27th, Jackson went to the 
relief of Trimble, who had been all night under arms, 
taking a part of his command, and leaving the rest to 
watch Pope, with orders to rejoin him, if necessary, 
at Manassas. Almost immediately after Jackson's 
arrival upon the scene, a Federal detachment began 
an attack, but, mistaking the strength of the Con- 
federates, were soon compelled to retire in confusion. 
Their own guns were captured and turned against 
them, making such havoc in their ranks that Jack- 
sons heart was moved with compassion, and he 
dashed forward alone, at the risk of his life, and 
waved a white handkerchief, as a signal of truce to 
them to accept quarter. The reply to this was a 
volley from their guns, and, seeing his offer refused, 
he hastened back to his men and ordered them to 
proceed with their work. The opposing force was 
quickly overcome; the commander fell mortally 



320 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

wounded and was left upon the field, while his men 
were pursued and scattered. 

Jackson now gave his troops a short rest, and per- 
mitted them to refresh themselves with the rich spoils 
which they had captured from the enemJ^ As it was 
impossible for them to remove aU these vast stores, 
the men were allowed to help themselves to all that 
they could consume and carry away, and the remain- 
der was destroyed, to prevent its falling again into the 
hands of the enemy. The new clothing, boots, hats, 
and tempting eatables were a rare treat to the hungry 
soldiers, who had marched t\venty-five and thirty 
miles a day, and had fed principally on green corn 
and apples gathered by the way. But after a few 
hours of this high carnival, the}' had again to buckle 
on their armor. The forces which Jackson had left 
at Bristow Station under Ewell had been attacked, 
and after a brave resistance had been withdrawn to 
join Jackson at Manassas. This was in obedience to 
Jackson's order, and was managed with so much skill 
that not a single man was cajjtured in the retreat ; 
the stream separating Bristow from Manassas was 
safely crossed, and the railroad bridge was burned. 
One division was sent that night across the AYarrenton 
and Alexandria Turnpike, and halted near the battle- 
field of the first Manassas. The next morning, the 2Sth, 
the two remaining divisions, after marching in differ- 
ent directions, joined the first, and Stuart's cavalry, 
after making a circuit as far as Fairfax Court-House, 
was also brought up on the flanks of the infantry, 
and the whole command was now concentrated north 
of the Warrenton Turnpike. The left wing rested on 
Bull Run, the right extended towai'ds the road lead- 



LOXGSTREET COMING TO HIS SUPPORT. 321 

ing from Thoroughfare Gap, through which Long- 
sti'eet, with his corps, was expected to come up to 
the support of Jackson. 

Thus far Jackson had been entirely successful in 
executing the instructions of General Lee in placing 
his corps between Pope and the Federal capital, but 
his position was becoming more and more critical ; for 
if Longstreet, by any reason, should fail in coming up 
to time, there was danger of Jackson's small army 
of only eighteen thousand men being crushed by the 
sheer weight of the greatly superior numbers of the 
whole Federal army, which he had drawn upon 
himself through his daring and rapid movement. 
Scarcely had he completed the disposition of his 
troops, when the enemy were discovered to be advanc- 
ing along the Warrenton turnpike in heavy force. 
Suspecting that they might be retreatmg to Alex- 
andria to avoid an engagement, Jackson determined 
to attack them, even at the risk of his own safety. 
He had no idea of letting the enemy escape him, and 
he lost no time in striking them on the flank as they 
passed, thereby arresting their march and compelling 
them to come to a stand. The Confederate batteries, 
having an elevated position, opened such a fierce 
cannonade that the enemy were forced to return it, 
and a short time before sunset a furious and bloody 
battle began, and continued until about nine o'clock, 
when the enemy retired under cover of darkness, 
leaving the field in the possession of the Confederates. 
In this engagement two of General Jackson's major- 
generals, Ewell and Taliaferro, were wounded ; the 
former losing a leg, but he was subsequently able to 

resume his command. 
21 



322 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

On the morning of the 29th Jackson discovered that 
the enemy were preparing to give battle, and, if possi- 
ble, crush him before he could receive reinforcements. 
To both officers and men the danger of their situation 
was so imminent that all eyes were anxiously turned 
towards Thoroughfare Gap, to see Longstreet coming 
to their relief. Earl}'^ in the morning clouds of dust in 
that direction raised their hopes, but it proved to be a 
body of the enemy who had occupied that pass the 
day before for the purpose of intercepting Longstreet's 
passage, and were now retiring to Bristow. At ten 
o'clock Jackson's right flank was attacked by a heavy 
cannonade from the enemy's batteries, which was re- 
turned with promptness and spirit. A general and 
terrible conflict now threatened, and Jackson's lines, 
though thinned by battle and almost exhausted by 
their extraordinary exertions, yet stood heroically at 
bay. Soon, however, their anxious hopes were real- 
ized when Stuart's couriers came dashing up and an- 
nounced the approach of Longstreet. Already great 
clouds of dust were seen arising over Thoroughfare 
Gap, and the expected troops, stimulated by the sound 
of the cannonading, were hurrying forward to the 
relief of their struggling comrades. Stuart conducted 
them in safety to Jackson, and the union of the two 
corps was effected, and infused new life and spirit 
into the whole Confederate ranks. After Longstreet's 
arrival, the enemy changed position, and the battle 
continued for many hours with stubborn and relent- 
less fury on both sides. The Federals displayed great 
valor, six times rushing forward in separate and deter- 
mined assaults, but were each time repulsed. About 
two o'clock they hurled their masses of infantry with 



SECOXD DAY OF THE BATTLE. 323 

perfect desperation against Jackson's wing, but, as line 
after line advanced to close quarters, it was only to 
be mowed down and driven back in dismay and con- 
fusion. The conflict raged until many of the Confed- 
erate infantry had exhausted their cartridges ; but they 
declared they would hold their position with the baj'- 
onet, and some of them did thus hold it, while others 
seized the stones of the field and fought with them. 
While Jackson's corps was struggling against these 
furious onslaughts, Longstreet was engaged in equally 
severe and bloody work in resisting the forces that 
were brought against him. The army of Pope was 
reinforced by a corps of McClellan from the Penin- 
sula, and with this new enemy Longstreet was engaged 
until nine o'clock at night, driving back his assailants 
and capturing a number of prisoners and trophies. 
Darkness then closed this second day of carnage, and 
the weary Confederates slept upon their arms, in pos- 
session of the lines which they had so gallantly held. 

That night, when Jackson and his staff came together 
for a few hours' sleep under the open sky, their pale 
faces did not indicate the success of the day, for their 
hearts were heavy with sorrow at the fall of many of 
the best and bravest of their army, and around them, 
in the darkness, lay the wounded and dying. "Wearied 
and sad, they spoke but little beyond inquiries and 
remarks concerning the occurrences of this event- 
ful day. The medical director, Doctor McGuire, in 
speaking of the terrible conflict, said : " General, this 
day has been won by nothing but stark and stern fight- 
ing." " No," replied Jackson, " it has been won by 
nothing but the blessing and protection of Provi- 
dence." After the fatigues and horrors of the day 



324 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

were over, the chaplains, who had occupied themselves 
in caring for the wounded, collected in groups all the 
men that could be found off duty, and led them in 
prayer and praise to the Captain of their salvation. 
Before another sun had set, many of these worshippers 
were among the throng around the great white throne. 

General Lee, having arrived with Longstreet upon 
the scene of action, the morning of the 30th found the 
commander-in-chief at the head of his army, upon the 
ground which his subordinates had so stoutly held 
against all the assaults of the previous day, and calin- 
1}' awaiting the attack. Jackson held the left wing, 
Longstreet the right, and the artillery occupied an ele- 
vated ridge in the centre, commanding the fronts of 
both wings. 

The Confederates stood solely upon the defensive, 
and possessed such advantages in position that it might 
be said the battle was won before it was fought. The 
Federals showed their wisdom in delaying hostilities 
until late in the afternoon. The morning was marked 
by onl\' an occasional cannonade upon different por- 
tions of the Confederate lines, with slight skirmishes, 
and the great attack was not made until four o'clock. 
Then the struggle began in earnest — the Federals 
making a most gallant charge — three lines advancing 
in dense masses, and dashing like great billows against 
their opponents. As each line recoiled before the 
murderous fire with which it was met, another fol- 
lowed with still more determination, and the struggle 
raged with furious desperation, until the Confederates 
exhausted their ammunition. 

For about half an hour the brunt of the battle was 
borne by Jackson's lines, and finding them wavering 



THIRD DAY OF THE BATTLE. 325 

at several points, Longstreet was ordered to his assist- 
ance. But before the order was received, Longsti-eet, 
perceiving and embracing an opportunity' of pouring 
his artillery into the advancing ranks, turned the tide 
against them. Tbis gave the Confederates time to 
rally, and they dashed forward with renewed enthu- 
siasm and vigor. Both of their wings were ordered 
to close in upon the foe, while the artillery dealt a 
deadly and terrific fire into his lines, causing them to 
break just as darkness, intensified by the smoke of 
battle and an impending storm, gatbered over the ter- 
rible scene. At ten o'clock the third day of this great 
battle came to an end, and the wearied Confederates 
lay down to seek rest upon a victorious field, but 
found only a watery bivouac under the beating of a 
continuous rain, while all night long was heard the 
tramp of the enemy retreating to the heights of Cen- 
tre ville. 

In this three days' battle the Confederate loss was 
very heavy, but the battle-field revealed the fact that 
tbat of the Federals was far greater. Their surgeons, 
under a flag of truce, ministered to the wounded, 
many days being consumed in the work, and num- 
bers of lives were sacrificed by delay in receiving 
attention. The estimate was that in this series of 
battles the total Confederate loss was about seventy- 
five hundred men, eleven hundred of whom were slain 
upon the field. Jackson's proportion of the loss in 
oflicers and men greatly exceeded that of the rest of 
the army, in consequence of his fighting the first day 
without the support of reinfo. cements, and subse- 
quently the enemy seemed to select his lines chiefly 
as the points of the most furious attacks. In all the 



326 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOV. 

long struggle he lost only thirty-five men by capture, 
while the prisoners on the other side were estimated 
at seven thousand, in addition to two thousand left 
wounded upon the battle-field. Twenty thousand 
small-arms, thirty pieces of artillery, numerous coloi's, 
and a large amount of array stores fell into the hands 
of the Confederates. In reviewing the whole, Jack- 
son thus closes his report : 

" For these great and signal victories our sincere 
and humble thanks are due unto Almighty God. We 
should in all things acknowledge the hand of Him 
'^ who reigns in heaven and rules among the armies of 
men. In view of the arduous labors and great priva- 
tions the troops were called to endure, and the isolated 
and perilous position which, the command occupied 
while engaged with greatly superior numbers of the 
enemy, we can but express the grateful conviction 
that God was with us, and gave us the victory ; and 
unto His holy name be all the praise." 

Dr. Dabney says : " Few words are needed to point 
out the share which Jackson and his corps merited 
in the glory of the second victory of Manassas. To 
the rapidity of his march, the promptitude and skill 
of his action in seizing and destroying the Junc- 
tion, the wisdom which guided his selection of a ])osi- 
tion, and tiie heroic tenacity with which he held it 
against fearful odds until the arrival of General Lee, 
was the splendid result chiefly due. It was so or- 
dered as if to illustrate the superior prowess of the 
Confederate soldieiy, th.at in this battle the positions 
of the combatants in July, 1861, were almost precisely 



"GOD GAVE US THE VICTORY!" 327 

reversed. The ground held by Jackson in the second 
battle was that held by McDowell in the first ; and 
the ground from which the Confederates drove Pope 
at nightfall, the 30th of August, was that from which 
McDowell could not drive them on the 21st of July ; 
while the preponderance of numbers was still upon 
the Federal side." 

On the 1st of September General Jackson wrote to 
his wife : 

" We were engaged with the enemy at and near 
Manassas Junction Tuesday and Wednesday, and again 
near the battle-field of Manassas on Thursday, Friday, 
and Saturday ; in all of which God gave us the vic- 
tory. May He ever be with us, and we ever be His 
devoted people, is my earnest prayer. It greatly en- 
courages me to feel that so many of God's people are 
praying for that part of our force under my com- 
mand. The Lord has answered their prayers ; He has 
again placed us across Bull Run ; and I pray that 
He will make our arms entirely successful, and that 
all the glory will be given to His holy name, and 
none of it to man. God has blessed and preserved 
me through His great mercy. On Saturday, Colonel 
Baylor and Hugh White were both killed, and Willie 
Preston was mortally wounded." 

Hugh White was the son of his pastoi-, a candidate 
for the ministry, and was one of the purest and no- 
blest of characters, as was also young Preston, who 
combined great beauty of youthful manhood with 
fervent piety and the brightest promise. They were 



328 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

both Lexington boys, from General Jackson's own 
church, and sons of his dearest friends. 

On the morning of the 1st of September, General 
Jackson's soldiers arose from the wet ground, cold and 
comfortless, and, after refreshing themselves with food 
and warmtli from camp-fires, were ordered to march. 
Longstreet was to remain to bury the dead and gath- 
er up the spoils. Stuart reported the enemy as hav- 
ing rallied upon the heights of Centreville, and occu- 
pying a ])owerful line of works, cajiable of defence 
either in front or rear, which General Joseph E. 
Johnston had constructed the first winter of the war. 
Here Pope's shattered army had taken refuge, and, 
with large reinforcements from McC'lellan, once more 
presented a front, and General Jackson was directed 
to turn their position, and, if possible, compel them 
to retreat without a battle. To accom])lish this, he 
marched through circuitous country roads, wliich 
brought him up far in the rear of Centreville. As 
soon as the enemy perceived this unexpected move- 
ment, they resumed their retreat, but upon approach- 
ing Fairfax Court -House thej' found Jackson pre- 
pared to attack them. A sudden and spirited engage- 
ment, known as that of Ox Hill, took place, the enemy 
making such a brave and desperate resistance that 
at last victory seemed almost within their grasp ; but 
after a short and bloody struggle the tide again turn- 
ed, and they once more took up their line of retreat, 
and disappeared in the darkness. 



CHAPTER XVII, 

MARYLAND CAMPAIGX AND SHARPSBURG— 1862. 

The invaders had now retreated in full force from 
Northern Virginia, leaving only a few fortified posts 
along the frontier, while the shattered armies of both 
Pope and McClellan sought shelter in the strong 
fortifications of Washington, from which the_y had so 
recently marched in immense numbers and with 
splendid equipment, in the confident expectation of 
annihilating the Confederate army. Pope's boast had 
been that during his campaign his headquarters 
should be in the saddle, and that he would subsist his 
troops on the invaded country, authorizing them to 
appropriate from the inhabitants all the horses and 
provisions which they could make use of, and to de- 
stroy what they could not use. He also demanded 
that all citizens within his lines should take an oath 
of allegiance to the Federal government, or be ban- 
ished South, threatening that they should be executed 
as spies in case of their return. Fortunate was it for 
the Virginians that this cruel and boastful command- 
er had so short and inglorious a reign. 

The success of the Confederates thus far, with an 
inferior force against greatly superior numbers, now 
emboldened General Lee to conceive the plan of 
taking the aggressive, and pursuing his advantage 
bv an invasion of Marvland. It was desirable that 



330 LIFE OK GENERAL TUOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Virginia should have a respite from the ravages of 
the two great contending armies, which had so long 
made it their field of battle ; and as ]\[aryland had 
been a Southern State, and was full of Southern 
sympathj% it was hoped that the appearance of Lee's 
army would stimulate her people to aid in achiev- 
ing independence. From the beginning of the war, 
many Marylanders had been in the Southern army, 
and it had no braver men or better soldiers. In 
consequence of its forced marches and many hard- 
fought battles, it was poorly equipped for an invasion ; 
but the great success hitherto, and the high spirit of 
his men, gave confidence to their commander, and the 
army was put in motion for the Potomac — Jackson's 
corps having rested only one day after the battle of 
Ox Hill, which closed with the night of September 
1st, in a thunder-storm and deluge of rain. The first 
day they marched to Dranesville, and on the second 
reached Leesburg. 

The fame of Stonewall Jackson having spread far 
and wide, the people were eager to catch a glimpse of 
him whenever his march led him near their homes. 
Crowds pressetl upon him, and ardent admirers would 
sometimes throw their arms round the neck of his horse. 
Attentions were showered upon him by the old and 
young, and were often of so enthusiastic a nature as 
to really embarrass him. As an instance of this, while 
he was passing through Leesburg a lady was seen 
standing in her doorway, who, on having her hero 
pointed out to her, ran out into the middle of the 
street, and, divesting herself of a scarf, threw it before 
his horse. With his characteristic modesty, he did 
not comprehend that this was meant to do him honor, 



CROSSING THE POTOilAC. 331 

and, reining up, he looked with puzzled inquiry first at 
the lady, who had retired to the sidewalk, and then 
at the scarf in front of liis horse's feet. One of his 
young staff officers, seeing his perplexity, explained to 
him in a stage whisper : " She means you to ride over 
it, general." As soon as he understood the delicate 
tribute which she intended, he turned to her with a 
beaming smile, and, taking off his cap, gallantly rode 
over the scarf. 

On the 5th of September General Jackson's com- 
mand crossed the Potomac at White's Ford. The 
river here is only about half a mile wide, and having a 
level and pebbly bottom, from two to three feet deep, 
the infantry were able to ford the stream. As the 
ti'oops came in sight of the river, they quickened their 
steps, and as line after line planted tiaeir feet upon 
Maryland soil, they rent the air with enthusiastic 
cheers. 

As soon as they had crossed, the first work to be 
done was to destroy the locks of the canal, thus drain- 
ing off its waters and preventing its navigation. On 
the 6th the army occupied the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad and entered Frederick City. Here a Mary- 
land gentleman welcomed General Jackson by pre- 
senting him with a superb horse, and a few hundred 
young men joined the ranks of the Southern army. 
Just as soon as his troops became the invaders, he 
issued the most stringent orders against straggling, 
depredation upon property, and every species of rapine 
or trespass, and his well-disciplined soldiers proved 
their obedience by a respect for private rights and 
a magnanimous forbearance that were in striking 
contrast with the conduct of the Federal army while 



f 



332 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

in Virginia. At Frederick, Jackson rested with his 
troops four days, and the day after his arrival being 
the Sabbath, he attended divine worship. It was a 
noteworthy fact that the people of the place attended 
their various churches with as much freedom and se- 
curity as if they were not within the lines of an in- 
vading army. Of the service he wrote to his wife the 
next day, September 8th : 

..." Last evening I attended a German Eefoi'med 
church in Frederick City. I was not quite near 
enough to hear all the sermon [his modesty had led 
him to take a back seat], and I regret to say fell 
asleep; but had I been near enough to hear, would 
probably not have been so unfoi-tunate. The minister 
is a gifted one, and the building beautiful. The pews 
are arranged m a circular form, so that every person 
faces the pulpit. The town appears to be a charming 
place, neat and beautiful. The ladies and gentlemen 
were sitting in front of the doors, and all looked so 
comfortable, and I may saj' elegant, according to my 
ideas, and their enjoyment looked so genuine, that 
m}'^ heart was in sympathy with the surroundings. 
If such scenes could only surround me in Lexington, 
how my heart would, under a smiling Providence, 
rejoice !" 

Whittier s celebrated war poem, " Bai'bara Friet- 
chie." claims to be founded upon an incident which 
was supposed to have taken place upon the entrance 
of General Jackson with his troops into Frederick 
City. The story is best told in the jioet's own melo- 
dious language, the part relating to General Jackson 
and his troops only being quoted : 



"BARBARA FRIETCHIE." 333 

" On that pleasant morn of the early fall 
When Lee niarclied over the mountain wall — 
Over the mountains winding clown, 
Horse and foot, into Frederick town — 
Forty flags with their silver stars, 
Forty flags with their crimson bars, 
Flapped in the morning wind : the sun 
Of noon looked down, and saw not one. 
Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then. 
Bowed with her fourscore years and ten ; 
Bravest of all in Frederick town, 
She took up the flag tlie men hauled down: 
In her attic window the staff' she set, 
To show one heart was loyal yet. 
Up the street came the rebel tread, 
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead. 
Under his slouched hat, left and right 
He glanced ; the old flag met his sight. 
' Halt !' — the dust-brown ranks stood fast. 
'Fire I' — out blazed tlie rifle blast; 
It shivered the window, pane and sash ; 
It rent the banner with seam and gash. 
Quick, as it fell from the broken staff'. 
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf; 
She leaned far out on the window-sill. 
And shook it forth with a royal will. 
' Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, 
But spare your country's flag,' she said. 
A shade of sadness, a blush of shame, 
Over the face of the leader came; 
The nobler nature within him stirred 
To life at that woman's deed and word : 
'Who touches a hair of yon gray head 
Dies like a dog ! Marcli on 1" he said. 

****** 
Honor to her I and let a tear 
Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall's bier." 

Alas for the poet ! that rude hands should have to 



334 LIFE OF r.EXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

sweep away this graphic picture, which his man}' ad- 
mirers have so long regarded as drawn from life ; but 
I have been told by members of General Jackson's 
staff that this pretty story was a myth. This is con- 
firmed by Dame Barbara's own nephew, Valerius 
Ebert, of Frederick City, who writes to a Northern 
paper : 

..." As to the waving of the Federal flag in the 
face of the rebels by Dame Barbara on the occasion 
of Stonewall Jackson's march through Frederick, 
truth requires me to say that Stonewall Jackson, with 
his troops, did not pass Barbara Frietchie's residence 
at all ; but passed through what in this city is called 
" The Mill Alley," about three hundred yards from 
her residence, then passed due west towards Antie- 
tara, and thus out of the city. But another and still 
stronger fact with regard to this matter may be here 
presented — viz. ; the poem by Whittier represents our 
venerable relative (then ninety -six years of age) as 
nimbly ascending to her attic window and \vaving 
her small Federal flag defiantly in the face of Stone- 
wall Jackson's troops. Now, Dame Barbara was at 
the moment bed-ridden and helpless, and had lost 
. the power of locomotion. She could at that period 
only move, as she was moved, by the helj) of her at- 
tendants. These are the facts, proving that Whittier's 
poem upon this subject is pure fiction." 

The bold step of General Lee in the invasion 
of Maryland spread consternation at Washington ; 
and President Lincoln, realizing the paramount im- 
portance of protecting the capital, no immediate ac- 



ENTHUSIASTIC DEMONSTRATIONS. 335 

tion was taken to follow the invading army. Upon 
the arrival of the whole Confederate army at 
Frederick, General Lee held a consultation with his 
leading generals as to a plan of future operations. 
Although the mass of the Federal troops had retired 
to Washington, Harper's Ferry had not yet been 
evacuated, as General Lee had hoped, and this en- 
dangered the safety of his army. It had been his 
design to proceed with his command into "Western 
Maryland, keeping up his communications with Kich- 
mond through the Shenandoah Valley, and to threaten 
Pennsylvania, thus hoping to draw the enemy after 
him, and away from their base of supplies. But with 
the Federals holding Harper's Ferry, it was deemed 
necessary to capture the place as speedily as possible, 
and General Jackson was ordered to move with his 
corps to Martinsburg, and after dislodging the enemy 
there to march down the south side of the Potomac 
upon Harper's Ferry. He accordingly left Frederick 
on the 10th of September, and, making a rapid transit 
through Middletown, Boonsboro', and Williamsport, 
the next day he recrossed the Potomac, and was ujjon 
his native soil. Upon hearing of Jackson's approach, 
on the 11th, the Federal commander retreated to 
Harper's Ferry, and the next morning Jackson's cav- 
alry reached Martinsburg, where the people, equally 
astonished and delighted, greeted him with a glad 
welcome; and, being once more in his beloved val- 
ley, among his own people, his heart responded with 
grateful emotion to their eager demonstrations. The 
ladies, who are always foremost in doing and claim- 
ing honors, beset him on all sides, and besought of 
him souvenirs — some requesting locks of his hair, and 



336 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

others buttons from his coat. He tried to excuse him- 
self by telling one pretty jietitioner that she had more 
hair than he had, and he permitted them to strip his 
coat of buttons, but finally their importunity so 
embarrassed him that, with a blushing face, he said : 
" Reall}', ladies, this is the first time I was ever sur- 
rounded by the enemy," and, with the best grace he 
could, he retreated from the clamorous circle. After- 
wards, a considerate young lady sent him a present 
of several cards of military buttons to replace those 
that had been cut from his coat, accompanying the 
gift with a charming letter. As a penalty of sharing 
his mastei''s fame, poor " Little Sorrel " lost many 
locks from his mane and tail. 

A rapid march from Martinsburg brought General 
Jackson and his corps, on the morning of the 13th of 
September, to Harper's Ferry. In the space of three 
months Jackson had swept down the valley, fought 
and won the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic ; 
had marched to Richmond and borne a conspicuous 
part in the seven days' battles ; had then turned north 
towards Washington, and won the battle of Cedar 
Run, and the second great struggle upon the plains 
of Manassas; and now, after a march to Frederick, 
Maryland, returned to Har]5er's Ferry, thus complet- 
ing a circuit so full of toil, hei"oism, and victory as 
to appear almost incredible. 

Arrived at Harper's Ferry, General Jackson found 
the enemy in force, and drawn up in battle array 
upon Bolivar Heights. General Lee, in his plan for 
the capture of the place, had ordered two other divi- 
sions, comrhanded by Generals JtlcLaws and Walker, 
to approach simultaneously with Jackson's corps, and 



CAPTURE OF HARPER'S FERRY. 337 

seize the Maryland Heights and Loudoun Heights, 
which would surround the garrison beyond escape. 
It was but one day's march for these divisions, while 
Jackson's route around by Martinsburg was a circuit 
of sixty miles. He was therefore naturally anxious 
to ascertain whether they had arrived at their respec- 
tive destinations, and lost no time in signalling their 
posts, but, receiving no reply, found that he was in 
advance of them. He then sent couriers to the heights, 
who returned during the night with the intelligence 
that both generals had executed their movements, 
and were in possession of the two heights. The 
Federals were now encompassed on every side. On 
the morning of the 1-tth, Jackson established com- 
munication with McLaws and Walker, and, as the 
ranking officer, directed the plan of operations for 
the capture of Harper's Ferry. 

After cutting roads, with great labor, by which 
artillery could be taken up to the heights, the Con- 
federates poured shot and shell upon the enemy, 
producing great dismay and the wildest confusion. 
However, thej' still had one loop-hole of escape, for 
the Confederate artillery could not dislodge the troops 
that occupied the main line upon Bolivar Heights, 
and here there was a chance of McClellan's coming 
to their relief. So it fell to Jackson's corps to deal 
the finishing stroke, in frustrating this forlorn hope, 
which was accomplished by moving in the darkness 
of night, screened by the ravines along the river, and 
getting in the enemy's rear To make assurance 
doubly sure, he planted eleven pieces of artillery 
aci'oss the Shenandoah to intercept egress or ingress, 

thus destroying every chance of escape or relief. The 
9'? 



338 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

morning of the 15th found tlie assailants eager to re- 
new the attack, and Jackson ordered all the batteries 
to open at once. A furious cannonade thus began, 
when after about an hour's resistance on the part of 
the garrison, a white flag was seen to be hfted aloft, 
and the tempest of battle at once ceased. The enemy 
had surrendered — with a garrison of eleven thousand 
men, over sixty pieces of artillery, thirteen thousand 
stand of small-arms, great numbers of horses and 
Avagons. and vast quantities of stores of every descrip- 
tion. The garrison was treated on the most liberal 
terms. The officers were permitted to retain their 
side-arms and all their pei'sonal effects, upon their 
parole ; and wagons and horses were also loaned them 
to remove their baggage into the Federal lines. The 
privates also, after being disarmed, were released on 
parole. 

"Writing to his wife, General Jackson says : 

" It is my grateful privilege to write that our God 
has given, us a brilliant victory at Harper's Ferry 
to-da\\ Probably nearly eleven thousand prisoners, 
a great number of small - arms, and over sixty pieces 
of artillery are, through God's blessing, in our posses- 
sion. The action commenced yesterday, and ended 
this morning in the capitulation. Our Heavenly 
Father blesses us exceedingly.. I am thankful to say 
that our loss was small, and Joseph and myself were 
mercifully protected from harm." 

"When General Lee sent the forces under Jackson 
from Frederick to reduce Harper's Ferr}', he started 



McCLELLAX'S ARMY APPROACHING. 339 

the remaining part of his command in other direc- 
tions, and in the meantime the situation of the 
Confederates in Maryland assumed a grave aspect. 
McClellan's grand army entered Frederick the day 
after General Lee evacuated it, and unfortunately a 
copy of his order directing the movements of his 
■whole army had been dropped on leaving the town, 
and was picked up by the Federals, revealing Lee's 
plan to McClellan, who at once embraced his oppor- 
tunity, and pressed forward in pursuit, before Lee 
could concentrate his scattered troops for battle. 
The Confederate army was now in great peril, as 
McClellan, with a full knowledge of the situation 
and of the movements of the Confederates, was 
gathering his forces for a decisive conflict. On the 
13th the Confederate cavalry near Boonsboro' was 
forced back slowly, and the command of General 
J). H. Hill, which had been sent to guard the moun- 
tain pass in front of Boonsboro', was attacked by 
overwhelming numbers. With less than five thousand 
men, he held the pass for five hours, repelling re- 
peated assaults until Longstreet, coming to their sup- 
port in the afternoon, enabled them to maintain their 
ground until nightfall. 

To oppose the advance of the enemy more effectu- 
ally, General Lee determined to concentrate his forces 
at Sharpsburg, and Jackson was summoned to join 
him as speedily as possible. Prompt to obey the 
order, he did not wait to receive the sui-render of the 
Federal troops at Harper's Ferry, but left that duty 
to General A. P. Hill. With the rest of his com- 
mand he took up his march by way of Shepherds- 
town. Generals Walker and McLaws having orders 



340 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON". 

to follow. The movement of all the troops, except 
McLaws's, which were harassed and delayed by the 
enemy, was safely effected. Longstreet and D. H. 
Hill arrived at Sharpsburg on the morning of the 
15th, and their troops were greatly inspirited by the 
news of the capture of Harper's Ferry. Sharpsburg 
is a little hamlet, situated two and a half miles from 
the Potomac and one mile from Antietam Creek. 
In the Federal accounts this creek gave name to the 
battle, which is always spoken of as the Battle of 
Antietam. Sharpsburg itself is remarkable only for 
its intersection of si.x roads, which afforded facilities 
for the concentration of Lee's divided army. The 
country is elevated and undulating, and presented a 
good defensive position, and here (General Lee made 
his dispositions to meet the advance of the enemy on 
the 15th of September; but the latter made only re- 
connoissances on that da\'. However, on the next 
morning, the 16th, their battei-ies opened fire, and 
their swaying multitudes indicated that a great battle 
had begun. It was about noon when Jackson arrived 
on the field, and, after a brief rest for his wearied 
troops, took his position, which was one of great 
exposure and dangei-. With the approach of evening, 
both the Federal artillery and infantry fiercely assailed 
the Confederates under the command of General 
Hood, whose left Jackson was ordered to support. 
This assault continued late into the night, but was 
gallantly repelled, and the two hostile armies slept 
upon their arms to be ready to renew the bloody con- 
flict in the morning. Even their hours of repose were 
disturbed by a continual dropping fire. 

A splendid autumn morning had scarcely dawned, 



THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG. 341 

on the 17th, when its brilliant beams were obscured 
by the smoke of terrific volleys from the whole Fed- 
eral line of artiller}'^ — the heaviest fire falling upon 
the Confederate left held by Jackson — an attack which 
was soon supported by infantry advancing in great 
force. The overwhelming numbei-s were met with 
unflinching bravery and resolution, and for several 
hours the unequal combat raged with unceasing vio- 
lence and varying fortune. Many of the Confederate 
field officers were killed and wounded, and their whole 
line rapidly thinned under the murderous fire of the 
tremendous odds against them ; still they fought with 
unconquerable tenacity, repeatedlj' breaking the ranks 
of the enemj', and, although forced back by sheer 
weight of numbers, thej' turned at every favorable 
position to make a stand, and retired to the best ad- 
vantage, when Jackson, still undaunted, ordered Early 
and Hood to gather up the fragments of the shattei-ed 
troops and return to the front to relieve those who 
were there so sorely pressed. Xobly did they exe- 
cute their commission, and, rushing forward against 
the surging masses of the enemy, succeeded in arrest- 
ing the tide of battle. For hours they resisted far 
greater numbers, and finallj' drove them back, and re- 
established the Confederate lines. Most opportunely, 
at this juncture, General McLaws, with his division, 
arrived upon the field, and with his prompt co-opera- 
tion and the strenuous etforts of other commanders the 
victorious enemv were checked ; their lines began to 
waver, and they retreated half a mile with great loss. 
General Jackson was now enabled to re-establish the 
whole of his line ; but the Federals, though withdraw- 
ing their infantry, still rained down a furious artillery 



342 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

fire the remainder of the day ; but Jackson's troops, 
now in a more sheltered position, suffered little loss. 
The Federal troops returned again to attack the Con- 
federate right and centre, but were again repulsed. 
Unfortunately, however, they discovered that one of 
the brigades opposed to thera had been withdrawn 
from its position, and immediately pressed forward 
through the breach thus made, and pierced the Con- 
federate lines. General D. H. Hill and other officers 
rallied the remnants of several scattered brigades, and 
with four pieces of artillery, supported by only a few 
hundred bayonets, arrested the vast masses of the ene- 
my. This small force (some of whom had fired every 
cartridge, and could trust only to the bayonet) pre- 
sented a bold front, until two other batteries came to 
their relief ; and after a desperate and determined re- 
sistance of an hour or so, the Federals retired. 

Notwithstanding the most stubborn and determined 
defence of the bridge over the Antietara, it was at 
last gained by the Federals, who crossed over in im- 
mense numbers and attacked Longstreet's right, which 
commanded the approaches. A few hundred yards 
advance would have given them possession of the roads 
leading from Sharpsburg to the Potomac, which were 
saved only by the timely arrival, from Harper's Ferry, 
of A. P. Hill and his division, which came at once to 
the support of Longstreet, and attacked the Federals 
who, flushed with expectant victory, had become dis- 
ordered bj' a too rapid and eager advance. After 
crossing the bridge, a triple line of the enemy dashed 
forward, captured a battery, and almost gained the 
crest of the wave of success, when they were checked 
by Hill's batteries and others in different positions. 



GENERAL LEE RETREATS ACROSS THE POTOMAC. 343 

the effect of whose concentrated fire was to drive the 
enemy back across the creek, and the Confederates 
recaptured the lost battery. The shadows of night 
now gathered over the scene, closing one of the most 
desperate and hard-fought battles of the war. 

" During this terrible conflict. General Jackson," so 
writes Dr. Dabney, his former chief-of-staff, " exposed 
his life with his accustomed imperturbable bravery, 
riding among his batteries and directing their fire, 
and communicating his own indomitable spirit to his 
men. Yet he said to a Christian comrade that on no 
day of battle had he ever felt so calm an assurance 
that he should be preserved from all pei'sonal harm 
through the protection of his Heavenly Father." 

In his report of this battle of Sharpsburg, General 
Lee gives the following picture of his army : " The 
arduous service in which our troops had been engaged, 
their great privations of rest and food, and the long 
marches, without shoes, over mountain roads, had 
greatly reduced our ranks before the action began. 
These causes had compelled thousands of brave men 
to absent themselves, and many more had done so 
from unworthy motives. This great battle was fought 
by less than forty thousand men on our side, all of 
whom had undergone the greatest labors and hard- 
ships in the field and on the march. Nothing could 
surpass the determined valor with which they met 
the large army of the enemy, fully supplied and 
equipped, and the result reflects the highest credit 
on the officers and men engaged." 

The 18th was devoted by both armies to burying 
their dead and removing their wounded. On that 
day General Lee discovered that McClellan was ex- 



344 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

pecting a large reinforcement of fresh troops, and, in 
view of the exhausted condition of his own forces, 
determined not to risk another battle, and therefoi'e 
withdrew them to Virginia. He took with him all 
his wounded who could bear removal, not leaving be- 
hind an efficient man or a single gun. General Jack- 
son was intrusted with the rear-£^uard, and, sitting on 
his horse in the middle of the Potomac, for hours he 
watched the passage of the troops across the stream. 
liot until he had seen the last man and the last gun 
safely upon the Virginia side did he cross over him- 
self. He then marched his command four miles, and 
encamped near Martinsburg. General Pendleton, with 
thirty pieces of artillery, was posted upon an eleva- 
tion overlooking the river, in oi'der to prevent the 
Federals from crossing in pursuit. Meanwhile the 
alertness of the enemy resulted in an advance in con- 
siderable force, which planted their guns on the oppo- 
site shore. During the night a detachment crossed 
the river, and, completely surprising the Confeder- 
ates, captured nearly all of their guns. General Pen- 
dleton, at midnight, I'eported to General Jackson 
(what he then believed to be true) that they had lost 
every gun ! It is said the news of this appalling di.s- 
aster caused Jackson more anxiety than he had ever 
shown before during the war. He iramediatelj'^ gave 
orders to effect the recovery of the captured guns, and 
started alone towards Boteler's Ford, which was a 
little below the position lost by Pendleton, having 
ordered his troops to follow him without delay. He 
was soon found by General Lee's couriers, without 
escort, far in advance of his troops, examining the 
position of the enemy. The gallant A. P. Hill ar- 



FATIGUE OF HIS RAPID MARCHES. 345 

rived first upon tlie ground, and, spreading out liis 
division into two lines, charged with great spirit, re- 
gardless of the storm of shot and shell from the 
guns across the river. The enemy resisted by bear- 
ing heavily down against Hill's left ; but, rallying his 
whole force, he made a second charge, and, sweeping 
down the hill, forced the enemy into the river, and, 
as he continued to fire upon them, but few reached the 
northern shore. 

While Jackson was watching this night engage- 
ment, a second messenger from General Lee ap- 
proached him for information, and the only remark 
he made was, " "With the blessing of Providence, they 
will soon be driven back." In this contest the Con- 
federates fought entirely without artillery, employing 
only the musket and bayonet. This brilliant affair 
was known as that of Boteler's Ford. 

In this arduous campaign not one of Jackson's sol- 
diers in the ranks endured more fatigue than he, and 
the mental strain was even more wearing u])on him. 
In his I'apid marches he sometimes was so overpow- 
ered by sleep that he could not resist it even when 
riding, and members of his staff found it necessary to 
support him in the saddle for fear of his falling. Sev- 
eral times he dismounted, and, leaning his head on a 
fence, and resting his outstretched arms upon it, would 
sleep for only five or ten minutes, having asked his 
staff to awaken him if he slept longer. He would not 
trust himself to lie down, lest his slumber might prove 
so profound as to render it difficult to arouse him. 

An incident which occurred about the close of this 
campaign illustrates his kindness of heart. An old 
woman called at his headquarters, and, to the no 



346 I-IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

small amusement of the young staif-officers, said she 
had come to see her son John, who was with " Jack- 
son's Company." She was much surprised that they 
could not tell her where John was, for he had been 
with " Jackson's Company " in all the battles. Her per- 
sistency somewhat annoyed the young men ; but when 
Jackson came in and heard her simple story, he lis- 
tened with as much politeness as if she were a grand 
lady, and after gently reproving the young men for 
laughing at her, he ordered that every company in his 
corps should be searched for " John," who was at last 
found, to the inexpressible delight of his loving old 
mother. 
The general's next letter to his wife is dated 

" BimKER HrLL, Oct. 6tb. 
" I am glad that you were privileged to keep Thanks- 
giving Day. We did not enjoy that blessing, I regret 
to say. I trust it was generally observed, and that 
rich blessings may flow from it through our ever-kind 
Heavenly Father. I also hope that on that day large 
contributions were made to our Bible Society. You 
and I have, as you say, special reason for gratitude to 
God for His goodness and mercy to us. . . . The citi- 
zens of Frederick did not present me the horse, as was 
published, though a Marylander gave me a fine-look- 
ing animal, possessed of great muscle and fine powers 
of endurance ; but he was not gentle, and of this the 
donor notified rae. Notwithstanding the notice, I 
mounted and rode him that evening, and he did well. 
The next morning, however, when I attempted again 
to ride him, he reared up and fell back with me, hurt- 
ing me considerably. Miss Osbourn, of Jefferson, 



A FEW WEEKS OF REST. 347 

sent me some excellent socks, and a beautiful scarf, 
which I wish my darling had. Our friend, Mrs. Gra- 
ham, of Winchester, sent me two nice sponge-cakes 
last week, and a Mr. Vihvig, of the same place, sent 
me an excellent arm-chair for camp use. I wish I 
could keep it until the close of the war, as I think my 
esposa would enjoy it. You are earnestly remembered 
in my prayers." 

A cessation of hostilities for a few weeks now gave 
the march-worn army of Northern Virginia a needed 
and grateful rest. Encamped on the banks of the 
Opequon, they literally revelled in their repose, in the 
beauties and delights of an unsurpassed autumn, and, 
above all, in the opportunity of refreshing the inner 
man, which was afforded by the productive farms of 
the valley. In the rich meadows and pastures tlieir 
horses also luxuriated and recruited strength. Never 
were the sweets of rest and plenty more enjoyed by 
man and beast. The admiration and devotion of Gen- 
eral Jackson's men had greatly intensified during this 
arduous campaign, and at his appearance they never 
failed to yell forth cheers, which were echoed and re- 
echoed by the more distant camps, as they sprang to 
their feet, exclaiming, " There comes old Jack !" This 
season of repose was not spent by their leader in inac- 
tion or idleness. He devoted himself to reorganizing 
his shattered troops — supplying them with shoes and 
clothing, and encouraging them in every way that he 
could minister to body and soul. With all his efforts, 
many of his men were left without shoes ; but such 
was the magic of his name that his forces increased 
rapidly in numbers and efficiency. 



348 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

On the 11th of October General Jackson received 
from the Confederate government his last promotion, 
which was that of lieutenant-general. October 13th 
he wrote to his wife again from Bunker Hill, in the 
vicinity of Winchester : 

" I am sitting in my tent, about twelve miles from 
our ' war-home,' where you and I spent such a happy 
winter. The weather is damp, and for the past two 
days has been rainy and chilly. Yesterday was com- 
munion at Mr. Graham's church, and he invited me to 
be present, but I was prevented from enjoying that priv- 
ilege. However, I heard an excellent sermon from the 
Rev. Dr. Stiles.* His text was 1st Timothy, chap, ii., 
5th and 6th verses. It was a powerful exposition of 
the Word of God; and when he came to the word 
'■himself he placed an emphasis upon it, and gave it a 
force which I had never felt before, and I realized that, 
truly, the sinner who does not, under Gospel privi- 
leges, turn to God deserves the agonies of perdition. 
The doctor several times, in appealing to the sinner, 
repeated the 6th verse — 'Who gave himself a ransom 
for all, to be testified in due time.' What more could 
God do than to give himself a ransom ? Dr. Stiles is 
a great revivalist, and is laboring in a Avork of grace 
in General Ewell's division. It is a glorious thing to 
be a minister of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace. 
There is no equal position in this world. 

* Rev. .Joseph C. Stiles, D.D., who h.aci been a pastor in Rich- 
mond, from which lie was called to New York to the Mercer Street 
Church, of which he was the pastor for some years. At the break- 
inw-out of the war he went South, and cast in his lot with bis 
own people. 



NOT ANXIOUS ABOUT HIS REPUTATION. 34.9 

" Colonel Blanton Duncan, of Kentuckv, has pre- 
sented me with two fine field or marine glasses. He 
has apparently taken a special interest in me." 

" October 20th. Although I greatly desire to see 
our much-prized Winchester friends, it has not been 
my privilege to visit the town since last May. . . . 
Last night was very cold, but my good friend Dr. 
Hunter McGuire secured a camp-stove for me, and in 
consequence, to-day, I am comparatively quite com- 
fortable. Don't send me any more socks, as the kind 
ladies have given me more than I could probably wear 
out in two years. God, through kind friends, is show- 
ering blessings upon me. . . . Let the soldiers have all 
your blankets. [This order was fulfilled, and finally 
all his carpets were sent to the army as covering for 
the suffering soldiers.] 

" Don't trouble yourself about representations that 
are made of your husband. These things are earthly 
and transitory. There are real and glorious blessings, 
I trust, in reserve for us beyond this life. It is best 
for us to keep our eyes fixed upon the throne of God 
and the realities of a more glorious existence beyond 
the verge of time. It is gratifying to be beloved and 
to have our conduct approved by our fellow-men, but 
this is not worthy to be compared with the glory that 
is in reservation for us in the presence of our glorified 
Redeemer. Let us endeavor to adorn tlie doctrine of 
Christ our Saviour in all things, knowing that there 
awaits us 'a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory.' I would not relinquish the slightest dimi- 
nution of that glory for all this world can give. 
My prayer is that such may ever be the feeling of 



350 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

my heart. It appears to me that it would be better 
for you not to have anything written about me. 
Let us follow the teaching of inspiration — 'Let an- 
other man praise thee, and not thine own mouth : a 
stranger, and not thine own lips.' I appreciate the 
loving interest that prompted such a desire in my pre- 
cious darling. . . . You have not forgotten ray little 
intimation that we might meet before the end of the 
year, but I am afraid now that your esjyoso will not be 
able to leave his command. However, all this is in 
the hands of the Most High, and my prayer is that 
He will direct all for His own glory. Should I be 
prevented from going to see my precious little wife, 
and mother should grow worse, I wish you to remain 
with her. In addition to the comfort it would give 
her, it would also gratify me to know that she was 
comforted by your being with her. She has my pray- 
ers that it may please our Heavenly Father to restore 
her again to perfect health. Do not send me any more 
handkerchiefs, socks, or gloves, as I trust I have enough 
to last until peace. You think you can remember the 
names of all the ladies who make presents to me, but 
you haven't heard near all of them. An old lady in 
Tennessee, of about eighty years, sent me a pair of 
socks. A few days since a friend in Winchester 
presented me with a beautiful bridle and martingale 
for a general officer, according to the Army Regula- 
tions. Mr. Porter, of Jefferson, sent me a roll of gray 
cloth for a suit of clothes, and friends are continually 
sending things to contribute to my comfort. I men- 
tion all this merely to show you how much kindness 
has been shown me, and to give you renewed cause 
for gratitude. If I only had you with me in my 



FRAGMENTS OF LETTERS. 35] 

evenings, it would be such a comfort ! I hope it may 
be my privilege to be in Winchester this winter. The 
people are so kind, and take a great interest in my 
esposita, and that gratifies me. ... I am in a Sibley 
tent, which is of a beautiful conical shape, and I am 
sure you would enjoy being in it for a while." 

"November 10th. Colonel A. E. Boteler telegraphs 
me from Richmond that arrangements are made for 
supplying my command with blankets. Yesterday 
about seventeen hundred and fifty were distributed 
in Winchester. There has been much suffering in my 
command for want of blankets and shoes, especially 
the latter." 

" November 11th Tell Colonel E that I am 

glad to see he has so pleasant a post as Charlotte, and 
that / would rather be stationed there [where his 
wife then was] than anywhere else in the Confederacy. 
Colonel Boteler deserves the lasting gratitude of the 
country for having done so much towards clothing 
our men." 

" November 17th. I am more concerned again about 
clothing, especially shoes and blankets, than I expect- 
ed to be, from what I heard. Colonel Boteler is doing 
much, and has been the means of greatly contributing 
to the comfort of our men. . . . Our gracious Heavenly 
Father strikingly manifests his kindness to me by dis- 
posing people to bestow presents upon me." 

He then gives the names of a number who had thus 
honored him, and closes by saying : 



352 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

" And so God, my exceeding great joy, is continu- 
ally showering His blessings upon me, an unworthy 
creature." 

November 20th he wrote as follows : 

"Don't you wish you were here in Winchester? 
Our headquarters are about one hundred yards from 
Mr. Graham's, in a large white house back of his, and 
in full view of our last winter's quarters, where my 
esjwsa used to come up and talk with me. "Wouldn't 
it be nice for you to be here again* but I don't know 
how long you could remain. ... I hope to have the 
privilege of joining in prayer for peace at the time you 
name, and trust that all our Christian people will ; but 
peace should not be the chief object of praj'er in our 
country. It should aim more especially to implore 
God's forgiveness of our sins, and make our people a 
holy people. If we are but His, all things shall work 
together for the good of our country, and no good 
thing will He withhold from it." 

" Mondaj^ If you had been in Winchester when I 
commenced this letter, you would not be there now, 
for your husband is no longer tliere, but his heart is 
with his little darling. Wi-ite to me at Gordonsville, 
as I hope to be there by Thursday." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

GLIMPSES OF HOME JOYS.— BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER— 1862. 

It will now be a relief to turn aside for a season 
from the horrible pictures of war which have been so 
loner before us to some more restful and attractive 
pages in the history of General Jackson's life. In 
order to do this, we will begin by going back as far as 
the spring of 1862, and glean some extracts from the 
letters of Mrs. Graham, of Winchester, in whose hos- 
pitable home we spent the first winter of the war; 
letters written to me from time to time, which will 
show how warm a friendsliip grew out of this associa- 
tion, and of which he was the chief subject. 

The correspondence began soon after the first evac- 
uation of Winchester by the Confederates, dating from 
the 3d of April, 1862. 

" My dear Friend, — . . . The events of the past few 
weeks have been so strange, so new, and so dreadful, 
that I almost feel as if I had entered upon a new ex- 
istence ; and when I sit and recall the pleasant hours 
that we passed together last winter, and the dear gen- 
eral's brief but happy visits to us, with all that delight- 
ful interchange of Christian and social intercourse, it 
seems like a bright dream. ' Oh, could those days but 
come again !' I feel as though that would be almost 

too much happiness. The occnjiation of our town bj 
23 



354 LIFE OF GEXERAI. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the Federals came upon me like a dreadful shock. I 
had never permitted myself to believe for an instant 
that they would ever get here. I had a firm convic- 
tion that reinforcements were somewhere witliin reach, 
for, of course, we knew that our general, brave and 
splendid as he is, could not withstand an overwhelm- 
'msc force with his little band, but still I believed some- 
thing would turn up to keep them away ; and when 
he came to tell us good-by, looking so sad (and I 
know he felt deeply grieved), I felt stunned, and could 
scarcely trust myself to speak, lest I should say some- 
thins to add to his troubles. The agonv of the next 
twenty-four hours, I trust, if it is God"s will, may nev- 
er be experienced by me again. It was, indeed, a bit- 
. ter thing to feel that our own army was gone, and 
then to see the Yankees in such numbers, the main 
body marching to the music of their brass bands, but 
some tearing across tlie fields, up the alleys, and in 
every direction — 'monarciis of all they surveyed' — it 
was too much for me, and I gave way completely. 
But I remembered that God reigns, and is over all I 
and I know this has not come upon us l\v accident. 
God has ordered and permitted it, and He lias been 
better to us than all our fears. His angel has cer- 
tainly encamped around our dwelling, and no harm 
has happened to us. It is really wonderful how we 
have been protected, while others have suffered so 
from their depreilations. . . . Our ladies have a daily 
prayer-meeting, which is very delightful, and serves 
to strengthen our faith and helj) us to bear our trials. 
I firmlv believe that God will deliver us and drive out 
our enemies. Their sojourn among us has greatly in- 
creased the secession feeling, and persons who had 



LETTERS FROM MRS. GRAHAM. 355 

never taken any part before have become violent. In- 
deed, the old town has stood up bravely for the South. 
This country is becoming completely desolated — the 
farms being stripped of everything, the fences all de- 
stroyed, and the farmers not planting any crops. There 
is no encouragement for them to do so, as long as the 
Yankees are here, for they take possession of every- 
thing they want. Their officers threaten to arrest 
every secessionist, but Ave are not intimidated, and I 
earnestly hojje our general will come back before they 
have time. We do long and watch for the day when 
he will return at the head of his army, and we will give 
him such a welcome as no man ever did receive before.'' 

" August 9th, 1862. . . . Although our master Pope 
does not allow us to write to our Teher friends, I 
expect to have an opportunity of sending a letter 
through the lines ; but as he is certainly not our right- 
ful master, and if I can so cheat him as to have a pleas- 
ant chat with you, my conscience will not be offended. 
While you were here, it became so natural for me to go 
into your room to communicate to you everything that 
was interesting or amusing, that now, when anything 
funny happens (for sometimes we do have occasion 
to laugh even now), I feel an intense desire to tell 
you about it, but have to content myself with im- 
agining how we would laugh if we only had a chance. 
. . . That threatened oath of allegiance has been so 
long delayed that we hope it may not be carried out ; 
but you may depend the thought was by no means 
agreeable that my dear husband would be picked up 
and put through the lines, not knowing whither to 
turn his feet, and I left with four little children with- 



356 I.IKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

out protection or support. However, I had the cahir 
and delightful ussiirance that our Father would not 
forsake us, but would make all things work together 
for our good. . . . God has certainly made use of your 
noble husband to do great things for his country. 
• Them that honor me, I will honor,' is His own 
promise, and He has been faithful to His word. I 
think our dear general more entirely forgets f:elf in 
his desire to glorify God than any one I ever knew — 
his humble, confiding trust in the Almighty gives me 
more comfort and more confidence than an3thing else. 
His qualities as a splendid general all admit, but the 
greatest of men often fail in their efforts; so, far 
above everything else do I prize his noble. Christian 
character, and I am thankful for the privilege which 
I enjoyed in being thrown so intimately with him. 
You remember I told you that I asked my Heavenly 
Father, if it was right for us to take boarders, to send 
me those who would be congenial, and He certainly 
more than answered my prayers. I thank Him foi* 
you both, my dear friend. 

"How wonderfully God has protected your dear 
husband ! Oh ! how I do rejoice with you that ' his 
head has been covered in the day of battle!' j\Iay 
God, in His infinite and tender mercy, spare him 
from all harm, and continue to nuike him the instru- 
ment of our deliverance, if it is His will. Oh that 
He may give us such victories as may compel a peace 
— an honorable peace! 

"The general's little visit to us was a perfect sun- 
beam. I never saw him look so fat and hearty, and 
he was as bright and happy as possible. He spent 
two evenings with us ; the evening he arrived here 



FROM MRS. GRAHAM. 357 

(which was Sunday) he came around, and said he did 
not think it was \vrong to come home on Sunday. 
Tliis was very gratifying to us. I don't remember 
ever experiencing more intense happiness than during 
that visit; and when I saw our dear general in his old 
place at the table, I could have screamed with delight I 
The children were very happy at seeing him. . . . 
When the Federal army last retreated, some of the 
frightened fugitives reported that the ladies of our 
town actually fired on them. Mother was seen to 
kill iwo ! " 

" October 13th. We watch with jealous and anx- 
ious eyes everything which looks like a retrograde 
tendency. I cannot help envying you your quiet 
home, far removed from the sight of war, but I have 
no doubt you would be even willing to exchange 
with me if you could have your husband with you. 
Well, so it is — 'every heart knoweth its own bitter- 
ness.' But I assure you, this tiling of being on the 
border, and subject at any time to be taken captives 
again, fs indeed dreadful; every time they come it is 
worse than before. In this last retreat they tried to 
destroy everything — burned the depot and warehouses, 
but I think our troops captured a great deal. The 
explosion of their magazine was terrific, our house 
heaved, and the glass was broken in almost every 
house in town. We poor Winchester people have 
a hard time, don't we ? 

" I wish the general was near enough for me to 
minister to his comfort in many ways, for we do love 
him. I hope yet that we may see him. I was quite 
amused with Jim, who came to see me the other day. 



358 LIFE OF GENERAL TIIOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Tou know you didn't give me a very exalted idea of 
Jim's talent in the culinary art, and I said in rather 
a commiserating tone, ' Jim, does the General get 
anything he wants to eat ?' ' Oh ! }'es, madam, / 
cook. I fare very well, and so do the staff P ... I 
wish you could know how your husband is regarded 
here. I never saw such admiration as is felt for him 
by every one, and his Christian character elicits the 
greatest reverence and affection. It would have done 
your heart good to hear the prayers that were offered 
for Mm on the day of Thanksgiving." 

"November 21st, 1862. 
" My deak Friend, ^ — I feel as if I cannot sleep to- 
night (although it is our bedtime) without writing 
a few lines just to tell you of a most delightful visit 
we had from your dear husband. lie took his head- 
quarters in town day before j'esterday, but he was 
too busy to come to see us. Mr. Graham called upon 
him yesterday, and he promised, if he could, to spend 
this evening with us; but this morning we witnessed 
the melancholy spectacle of our army moving off 
again, and we feared he would have to hurry off, 
without giving us the pleasure of seeing him. But 
he did not go, and he did come here to tea, and I tell 
you we had a pleasant time. It did seem so much 
like old times — those good old times of last winter ; 
we were all so cosy in our dining-room, and around 
the table we did wish for you in your seat between 
us. Indeed, the presence of your dear little self was 
all that was wantiner to complete the jjleasure of the 
evening. He is lookmg in such perfect health- — far 
handsomer than \ ever saw him — and is in such fine 



FROM MRS. GRAHAM. 359 

spirits, seemed so unreserved and unrestrained in his 
intercourse with us, that we did enjoy hira to the 
full. The children begged to be permitted to sit up 
to see ' General Jackson,' and he really seemed over- 
joyed to see them, played with and fondled them, 
and they were equally pleased. I have no doubt 
it was a great recreation to him. He seemed to be 
living over last winter again, and talked a great deal 
about the hope of getting back to spend this winter 
with us, in that old room, which I told him I was 
keeping for you and him. He expects to leave to- 
morrow, but says he may come back yet. This would 
be too delightful. He certainly has had adulation 
enough to spoil him, but it seems not to affect or 
harm him at all. He is the same humble, dependent 
Christian, desiring to give God the glory, and looking 
to Him alone for a blessing, and not thinking of him- 
self. This, I think, is a wonderful and beautiful trait, 
and one upon which I delight to dwell in my medi- 
tations upon him. The acquaintance that I have 
with him as an humble, trusting, and devoted follower 
of Christ is a source of the greatest consolation to 
rae at all times. I always feel assured that he does 
everything under the guidance of our Heavenly 
Father, and this is the secret of his wonderful success. 
" I fixed him a lunch for to-morrow, and we sat and 
talked so cosily, and the evening was concluded by 
bowing before the family altar again, and imploring 
our Father's blessing upon you and all of us, what- 
ever may betide. Now, was not this a charming 
evening, and don't you wish you had been here?" 

We now approach an event in the life of General 



360 '•"•''• "^' tJENERAL THUJIAS J. JACKSO.V. 

Jackson which gladdened his heart more than all 
his victories, and tilled it with devout gratitude to 
the Giver of all good. On the 23d of November, 
1862, God blest him witii a daughter. To a man of 
his extreme domesticit_y and love for children this 
was a crowning happiness ; and yet, with his great 
modesty and shrinking from publicity, he requested 
that he should not receive the announcement by tele- 
graph, and when it came to him by letter he kept 
the glad tidings all to himself — leaving his staff and 
those around him in camp to hear of it through oth- 
ers. This was to him a '*joy with which a stranger 
could not intermeddle," and from which his own 
hand could not lift the veil of sanctity. 

The first intimation of his new happiness Avas a 
letter from his little daughter herself ! The amanu- 
ensis was her aunt, Mrs. Irwin, at whose house she 
was born, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this was 
the letter : 

" My OWN DEAK Father, — As my mother's letter has 
been cut short by my arrival, I think it but justice that 
I should continue it. I know that you are rejoiced to 
hear of my coming, and I hope that God has sent me 
to radiate your pathway through life. I am a very 
tiny little thing. I weigh only eight and a half 
pounds, and Aunt Harriet says I am the express 
image of my darling papa, and so does our kind 
friend, Mrs. Osborne, and this greatly delights my 
mother. My aunts both say that I am a little beauty. 
My hair is dark and long, my eyes are blue, my nose 
straight just like papa's, and m}' complexion not all 
red like most young ladies of my age, but a beautiful 



THE BIRTH OK A DAIKiHTKR. SijL 

blending of the lily and the I'ose. Xow, all this 
Avould sound very vain if I were older, but I assure 
you I have not a particle of feminine vanity, ray 
only desire in life being to nestle in close to. my 
mamma, to feel her soft caressing touch, and to drink 
in tlie pearly stream provided by a kind Providence 
for my suj^port. My mother is very comfortable this 
morning. She is anxious to have my name decided 
upon, and hopes you will write and give me a name, 
with your blessing. We look for my grandmother 
to-morrow, and expect before long a visit from my 
little cousin, Mary Graham Avery, who is one month 
my senior. I was born on Sunday, just after the 
morning services at church, but I believe my aunt 
wrote you all about the first day of my life, and this 
being only the second, my history may be comprised 
in a little space. But my friends, who are about me 
like guardian angels, hope for me a long life of hap- 
piness and holiness and a futurity of endless bliss. 
" Your dear little wee Daughter." 

These lovely little missives continued to reach the 
father until the mother was able once more to resume 
her pen, but only this one was ever recovered. In 
the meantime, he writes on the 4th of December : 

..." Oh ! how thankful I am to our kind Heavenly 
Father for having spared my precious wife and given 
us a little daughter ! I cannot tell you how gratified 
I am, nor how much I wish I could be with you and 
see my two darlings. But while this pleasure is de- 
nied me, I am thankful it is accorded to you to have 
the little pet, and I hope it may be a great deal of com- 



362 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

pany and comfort to its mother. Now don't exert your- 
self to write to me, for to know that you were taxing 
yourself to write would give me more pain than the 
letter would pleasure, so yow must not da it. But you 
must Jove your esposo in the meantime. ... I expect 
you are just made up now with that baby. Don't you 
wish your husband wouldn't claim any part of it, but 
let you have the sole ownership ? Don't you regard 
it as the most precious little creature in the world '{ 
Do not spoil it, and don't let anybody tease it. 
Don't permit it to have a bad temper. How I would 
love to see the darling little thing! (4ive her many 
kisses for her father. 

" At present I am about fifty miles from Rich- 
mond, and one mile from (Tuine>''s Station, on the 
railroad from Richmond to Fredericksburg. Should 
I remain here, I do hope you and baby can come to 
see me before spring, as you can come on the rail- 
road. Wherever I go, God gives me kind friends. 
The ])eople here show me great kindness. I receive 
invitation after invitation to dine out, and spend the 
night, and a great many provisions are sent me, in- 
cluding nice cakes, tea, loaf-sugar, etc., and the socks 
and gloves and handkerchiefs still come! 

" I am so thankful to our ever-kind Heavenly Father 
for having so improved my eyes as to enable me to 
write at night. He continually showers blessings 
upon me ; and that you should have been spared, 
and our darling little daughter given us, fills my 
heart with overflowing gratitude. If I know my un- 
worthy self, my desire is to live entirely and unre- 
servedly to God's glory. Pray, my darling, that T may 
so live." 



LOVING THOUGHTS OF HIS CHILD. 363 

In response to his baby - daughter's first letter, he 

closes by saying : " Thank sister H very kindly, 

and give the baby -daughter a shower of kisses from 
her father, and tell her that he loves her better than 
all the baby -boys in the world, and more than all 
the other babies in the world." 

This was to reassure his wife, who feared he would 
be disappointed at not having a boy. He desired a 
son, believing that men had a larger sphere of useful- 
ness than women ; but his own will was so entirely in 
subjection to that of his Heavenly Father that he 
said he preferred having a daughter, since God had 
so ordained it. 

December 3d he wrote to his sister-in-law, thanking 
her for her kindness, and saying : " I fear I am not 
grateful enough for unnumbered blessings. ... I 
trust God will answer the prayers offered for peace 
on last Monday. Not much comfort is to be expected 
until this cruel war terminates. I haven't seen my 
wife since last March, and, never having seen my child, 
you can imagine with what interest I look to North 
Carolina." 

December 10th, he writes to his wife : " This morn- 
ing I received a charming letter from my darling lit- 
tle daughter, Julia." He had given her the name of 
his mother, whose memory was so dear to him. But 
immediatel}^ as if his heart trembled at the very 
thought of so much happiness, he adds : " Do not set 
your affections upon her, except as a gift from God. 
If she absorbs too much of our hearts, God may re- 
move her from us." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

From these thoughts of home, it is an abrupt change 
to the field of war. But the two armies, while enjoy- 
ing a few weeks of rest, had been in preparation for a 
renewal of the great struggle. The battle of Sharps- 
Durg (or Antietam), followed as it was by the with- 
<1rawal of Lee across the Potomac into Virginia, was 
legarded in "Wasliington as a great victory, and there 
was a loud demand that McC'lellan, flushed with suc- 
cess and strengthened by large reinforcements, should 
])ush his advantage to the utmost. Day after day 
came the order from the War Department for an im- 
mediate attack, till at last, impatient of delay, ije was 
relieved from command, and Burnside placed in his 
stead, who prom]itly advanced to Fredericksburg, on 
the Rappahannock, beliind which Lee, following the 
movement, proceeded at once to concentrate his whole 
force. To support him Jackson was ordered from 
Winchester, and he conveyed his troops to Fredericks- 
burg within eight days, having given them a rest of 
two days to relieve those who were without shoes, 
for, with all his efforts to provide for their necessities, 
many still remained barefooted, to whom it was so 
painful to march that numbers fell out of the ranks 
and had to be left behind. But by the greatest exer- 
lions his command was brought to the scene of ac- 



JACKSON AS HE COMES ON THE FIELD. 365 

tion, and his last message to me before the battle was, 
"My headquarters are several miles from Fredericks- 
burg, and the cannonading near thei'e has been very 
heavy this morning." By the 12th of December the 
Federals crossed the Rappahannock, took possession 
of Fredericksburg, and prepared to sweep everything 
before them. 

The next morning (the memorable 13th),tis General 
Jackson rode forth to battle his appearance attracted 
unusual attention. He had just received a present 
from General Jeb Stuart of an elegant new uniform, 
which was in such striking contrast with his old 
suit (of which he had taken no thought, nor given 
any time to replace it during his arduous Valley Cam- 
paign) that his soldiers scarcely recognized him. Gal- 
loping down the lines with his staff, he soon attracted 
the attention of the Federal sharp-shooters ; but he 
safely reached the summit of a hill, where General Lee 
was watching the progress of affairs. A Confederate 
artilleryman, Wm. Page Carter, gives the following 
graphic picture of Jackson as he came on the field: 

" A general officer, mounted upon a superb bay horse 
and followed by a single courier, rode up through our 
guns. Looking neither to the right nor the left, he rode 
straight to the front, halted, and seemed gazing intently 
on the enemy's line of battle on the old telegraph road. 

" The outfit before me, from top to toe, cap, coat, 
pants, top-boots, horse and furniture, were all of the 
new order of things. But there was something about 
the man that did not look so new, after all. He ap- 
peared to be an old-time friend of all this turmoil 
around him. As he had done us the honor to make 



366 LIKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

an afternoon call on the artillery, I thought it becom- 
ing in some one to say something on the occasion. 
Xo one did, however : so. although a somewhat bash- 
ful and weaii-kneed youngster, I plucked up courage 
enough to venture the remark that those big guns 
over the river had been knocking us about pretty con- 
siderably during the day. He quickly turned his head, 
and I knew in an instant who it was before me. The 
clear-cut, chiselled features; the thin, compressed, and 
determined lips; the neatl}' trimmed chestnut beard; 
the calm, steadfast eye, that could fathom the tide of 
battle in a moment ; the countenance to command re- 
spect, and, in time of war, to give the soldier that con- 
fidence he so much craves from a superior officer, were 
all there. And there was one I had heard so much of 
and had longed so much to see, whose battle front I 
was then to look upon for the first time, but not, how- 
ever, the last. As I said before, he turned his head 
quickly, and looking me all over in about two seconds, 
he rode up the line and away quietly and as silently 
as he came, his little courier hard upon his heels ; and 
this was my first sight of Stonewall Jackson." 

Dr. Dabney describes the array of annies on the 
morning of the battle : 

"It was now past nine o'clock, and the sun, mount- 
ing up the eastern sky with almost a summer power, 
was rapidly exhaling the mist. As the white folds 
dissolved and rolled away, disclosing the whole plain 
to view, such a spectacle met the ej'es of the generals 
as the pomps of earth can seldom rival. Marshalled 
upon the vast arena between them stood the hundred 



THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 367 

and twenty-five thousand foes, with countless batteries 
of field-guns blackening the ground. Long triple lines 
of infantry crossed the field from right to left, and 
hid their western extreme in the streets of the little 
city; while down the valleys, descending from the 
Stafford Heights to the bridges, were pouring in vast 
avalanches of men, the huge reserves. For once, war 
unmasked its terrible proportions to the view with a 
distinctness hitherto unknown in the forest-clad land- 
scapes of America ; and the plain of Fredericksburg 
presented a panorama that was dreadful in its gran- 
deur. . . . Lee stood upon his chosen hill of observa- 
tion, inspiring every spectator by his calm heroism, 
with his two great lieutenants beside him, and re- 
viewed every quarter of the field with his glass. It 
was then that Longstreet, to whose sturd\' breast the 
approach of battle seemed to bring gayety, said to 
Jackson : ' General, do not all these multitudes fright- 
en you V He replied : ' We shall see very soon whether 
I shall not frighten them.' " 

The generals soon sought their respective positions, 
and the battle opened with a furious cannonade — two 
hundred guns thundering from the heights occupied 
by the enemy — and the opposite hills returning the 
fire with all the skill and power of which an inferior 
force was capable. A vivid description of the conflict 
itself is furnished by a young Confederate officer : 

" The whole battle-field was the most dramatic and 
imposing tableau I ever witnessed. . . . The low grounds 
of the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg spread 
into a plain of some miles in width, bounded by a 



368 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. .lACKSON. 

range of low wooded bills, which terminate on the 
lower side in the Massaponax low grounds, and on the 
upper in a series of rather high and abrupt bluffs next 
to the river and above the town. At one point in this 
line of hills a wooded marsh projects far into the plain. 
" Imagine now this long line of wooded hills peopled 
with men — every little promontory bristling with ar- 
tillery, the whole line of railway at the foot of the 
hills and every hedge-row and ditch gleaming with 
bayonets, and you have what must have been the 
impression of the Yankees of our position. Again. 
stand with me upon one of the same little promon- 
tories and look out upon their lines, and see what 
we saw. Far upon the left the smoke from the 
smouldering ruins of the town, and Longstreet's camp- 
fires seem to blend together ; while in front, and al- 
most as far as the eye can reach to the right and left, 
you see the blue-coated Federal lines extended, well- 
armed, well-equipped, and seemingly assured of suc- 
cess. Behind them the hills seem crowded with artil- 
lery, which can hurl their missiles to the very foot of 
the hills upon which we stand. The word is given to 
advance. How gallantly they come on! Not a sound 
is heard from our side except the sharp crack of our 
skirmishers as they fall back slowly before the over- 
whelming advance. The air seems alive with the 
whistling of shot and shell which the enemy send as 
precursors to their infantry charge. Suddenlj' a bat- 
tery of thirty guns, from just where we are stand- 
ing, opens upon the column of attack. They falter, 
and reel, and stagger ; they rally, and break, and ral- 
ly again ; but in vain : flesh and blood cannot stand 
it ; they retire routed and confused. At that moment 



TURNINGPOINT OF THE DAY. 369 

an officer gallops wildlj^ up to General Jackson, and 
exclaims, in almost breathless haste : ' General, the en- 
emy have broken through Archer's left, and General 
Gregg says he must have help, or he and General 
Archer will both lose their position.' The general 
turned round as quietly as if nothing extraordinary 
had happened, and ordered up Early's division to sup- 
port the centre. Yet every one said afterwards that 
this was the turning-point of the day. In about an 
hour the footing which the enemy had gained in the 
wood was recovered by Trimble and Thomas, and they 
were pursued far into the plain. This was all I saw of 
the fight." 

Longstreet's troops were equall}' successful in repell- 
ing their opponents, and when the day closed the vic- 
tory was complete. 

During the battle, while there was a lull in the 
fiercest hostilities. General Jackson, desiring to inspect 
the positions of the enemy, rode to his extreme right, 
dismounted, and, accompanied only by his aide, Mr. 
Smith, walked far out into the plain. They were soon 
singled out by a sharp-shooter, who sent a bullet whiz- 
zing between their heads, which were not more than 
two paces apart. The general turned to his companion 
with a humorous smile, and said : " Mr. Smith, had 
you not better go to the rear ? They may shoot you !" 

At the close of this memorable day. General Jack- 
son went to his tent, and there found Colonel Boteler, 
who was his right-hand man in carrying despatches 
to the government, and in co-operating with him in 
every way. The colonel was invited to share his pallet 
with him, but he sat up himself some time longer, writ- 
24 



370 LIKE OK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

ing and sending despatches. Weariness at last com- 
pelled him to throw himself down without undressing, 
and, after sleeping profoundly for two or three houi-s, 
he rose, lighted his candle, and continued his writing. 
In glancing around, he noticed that the light of his 
candle shone full in the face of his friend, whom he 
supposed to be still sleeping, and with the quick 
thoughtfulness of a woman he placed a book ujion 
his table in front of the candle, so as to shield his face 
from the light and not interrupt his slumber. 

General Jackson was much concerned at hearing of 
the mortal wounding of General Gregg, of South Car- 
olma, on the previous day. About four o'clock on 
this morning he sent for Dr. ^IcGuire to learn his 
condition, which he was told was beyond hope. The 
surgeon was requested to go again and see that the 
dying man had everything he could desire, but by 
the time he reached his bedside footsteps were heai-d 
behind him, and Jackson appeared in the doorway, 
having been impelled by his feelings to follow him- 
self, and take a farewell of his brave and heroic sub- 
ordinate. The brief interview was tender and touch- 
ing, and sad and silent the commander rotle back with 
Dr. McGuire to his tent. 

When he ordered his servant. Jim, to bring his 
" Little Sorrel " for him to ride on this occasion, Jim 
]trotested against bis using this horse, which he had 
ridden during the whole of the battle of the pre- 
vious day, and an amusing war of words passed be- 
tween them; but Jim had it in his power to gain 
the victory, and brought out another horse, which the 
general mounted, and rode off, attended by a single 
aide. 



BURNSIDK RETREATS ACROSS THE RIVER. 371 

The Confederate generals expected a renewal of 
hostilities the next day, and their army was eager for 
another attack, but the Federals failed to advance. 
On Monday, the 15th, a flag of truce was sent by the 
enemy, requesting permission to care for their wound- 
ed, who had been left upon the frozen ground ever 
since the day of battle. Then under the cover of 
night, and while a storm of wind and rain was raging, 
they crossed their whole force over the river, con- 
ducting their i-etreat so silently that it was wholly 
concealed from the Confederates. They marched in 
such silence through the streets of Fredericksburg 
that the people generally (who had been shut ; up in 
their homes) did not know that the vast hordes were 
pouring out of their town. When a few, hearing the 
continuous tramp of men and horses, looked out with 
candles in hand, they were startled at finding the 
streets packed with multitudes with faces turned 
northward, and they were commanded in peremptory 
whispers : " Put out that light ! put out that light !" 
— while some of the officers even rushed up to them, 
blew out their lights, and thrust them back into the 
houses. When the dreary morning dawned, the Con- 
federates were surprised to find that the mighty host 
which had confronted them for three days had disap- 
peared from before Fredericksburg, and were once 
more in their camp on the other side of the river. 
They admitted a loss of twelve thousand men killed 
and wounded, nine thousand small-arms, and about a 
thousand prisoners. In repelling the attacks of their 
vast army. General Lee had less than twenty-five 
thousand men actually engaged, and had lost but four 
thousand two hundred. Of these twentv-nine hun- 



372 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

dred were killed and wounded in the corps of Jack- 
son ; and there were, in addition, five hundred and 
twenty -six officers and men captured. This great 
battle of Fredericksburg ended the campaign of 1802, 
which to the Confederates was the most brilliant and 
successful of the war. 

December 16th General Jackson wrote to his wife : 

" Yesterday, I regret to say, I did not send you a 
letter. I was on the front from before dawn until 
after sunset. The enemv, through God's blessing, 
was repulsed at all points on Saturday, and I trust 
that our Heavenly Father will continue to bless us. 
We have renewed reason for gratitude to Him for 
my preservation during the last engagement. AVe 
have to mourn the deaths of Generals !Maxev Gregg 
and Thomas R. R. Cobb. The enemy has recrossed to 
the north side of the Rappahannock. ... I was made 
very happy at hearing through my baby daughter's 
last letter that she had entirely recovered, and that 
she ' no longer saw the doctor's gray whiskers.' I was 
much gratified to learn that she was beginning to 
notice and smile when caressed. I tell you, I would 
love to caress her and see her smile. Kiss the little 
darling for her father and give my grateful love to 
sister H ." 



" December 18th. Our headquarters are now about 
twelve miles below Fredericksburg, near the house of 
Mr. Richard Corbin, which is one of the most beauti- 
ful buildings I have seen in this country. It is said to 
have cost sixt\' thousand dollars. Night before last 



CHANGE OF HKADyUARTERS. 373 

I was about to spend the night in the woods, but sent 
to ask if we could procure our supper at the house. 
Mr. Corbin was absent, serving as a private in the 
Virginia cavalry, but Mrs. Corbin bountifully supplied 
us, and requested me to spend the night at her house, 
which invitation was thankfully accepted, and I had a 
delightful night's rest. The next morning she urged 
me to remain, and offered me a neat building in the 
yard for my office, but I declined, and am now about 
five hundred yards from the house, encamped in the 
woods. She told me that if at any time I needed 
house room, she could let me have it. [He afterwards 
moved into the office in the yard, and spent most of 
the time he was in winter-quarters there.] 

" Baby's letters are read with great interest, and it 
does her father's heart great good to read them. . . . 
I have much work before me, and to-day I expect 
to commence in earnest. The reports of the battles 
of McDowell, Winchester, Port Republic, Richmond, 
Manassas, the Maryland campaign. Harper's Ferry, 
and Fredericksburg have all yet to be written. But 
something has been done towards several of them by 
my staff." 

" Christmas, 1862. Yesterday I received the baby's 
letter with its beautiful lock of hair. How I do want 
to see that precious baby ! and I do earnestly pray for 
peace. Oh that our country was such a Christian, 
God-fearing people as it should be ! Then might we 
very speedily look for peace. Last evening I received 
a letter from Dr. Dabney, saying : ' One of the high- 
est gratifications both Mrs. Dabney and I could enjoy 
would be another visit from Mrs. Jackson when her 



374 LIKE OF GENKRAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

health is re-established," and he invites me to meet yoii 
there. lie and Mrs. Dabney are very kind, but it ap- 
pears to rae that it is better for me to remain witli 
my command so long as the war continues, if our 
gracious Heavenly Father permits. The army suffers 
immensely by absentees. If all our troops. oflScei-s 
and men, were at tiieir posts, we might, through God's 
blessing, expect a more speedy termination of the war. 
The temporal affairs of some are so deranged as to 
make a strong plea for their returning home for a 
short time ; but our God has greatly blessed me and 
mine during my absence ; and whilst it would be a 
great comfort to see you and our darling little daugh- 
ter, and others in whom I take special interest, yet 
duty appeiirs to require me to remain with my com- 
mand. It is impoi'tant that those at headquarters set 
an example by remaining at the post of duty. 

" Dr. Dabney writes : ' Our little prayer-meeting is 
still meeting daily to ))ray for our army and leaders.' 
This prayer-meeting may be the means of accomplish- 
ing more than an army. I wish that such existed 
everywhere. How it does cheer mj' heart to hear of 
God"s people praying for our cause and for me! I 
greatly prize the prayers of the pious." 

" December 29th. Yesterday I had the privilege 
of attending divine service in a church near General 
Hill's headquarters, and enjoyed the services very 
much. Dr. White savs in a recent letter that our 
pew at home has been constantly occupied by Wheel- 
ing refugees. I am gratified to hear it. He also 
adds. ' How we would rejo'ce to see you and our dear 
friend, Mi's. Jackson, again in that pew. and in the 



ADVICE TO A YOUXG RELATIVK. 375 

lectnre-rooin at prayer-meetings! We still meet ev- 
ery Wednesday afternoon to pray for our army, and 
especially for our general.' May every needful bless- 
ing rest upon yoxi and our darling child is the earnest 
prayer of your devoted husband." 

The next two letters were written to a young rela- 
tive, a nephew of his mother from West Virginia, 
who applied to him for a position in the array : 

..." In reply to your intention of going into ser- 
vice, I am gratified at your determination, and would 
recommend you to enter the army under General John 
Echols, as it is operating in the western part of the 
State, to which climate you are accustomed. I would 
like to have you with me if I had a place to which I 
could properly assign you; but you had better join 
General Echols at once, and by your attention to 
duty I hope you will, through the blessing of God, 
render valuable service to our precious cause." 

In a second letter of April 2d, 1863, he sa3's : 

" I am much gratified to hear that you followed my 
suggestion, and trust you will have no reason to regret 
it. We should always be usefully employed, and if 
we are faithful in doing our duty in one position, it 
frequently follows that we are advanced to a higher 
one. In regard to your question whether our section 
of the State will get relief this summer, I am unable 
to say. My command is not a separate one. I am 
under General Lee, and my corps forms a part of his 
army. I hope the Northwest will soon be reclaimed, 



376 I>IKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSO.V. 

but 1 do not know what the government designs re- 
specting it this summer. 

" I have a little daughter, and have named her 
Julia after my mother. I don't suppose you have 
any recollection of mother, as she has been dead near- 
ly thirty years. In the summer of 1855 I visited her 
grave in Fayette County. My wife and child are 
with her father in North Carolina. 

" I hope you are a Christian. There is no happi- 
ness like that experienced by a child of God. You 
have an interest in my prayers." 

The following incidents are from the pen of the 
Kev. James P. Smith, D.D., of Fredericksburg, who 
was a member of General Jackson's staff : 

" When I was a private soldier, a member of the 
Rockbridge Artillery, I went to headquarters with a 
written application for leave of absence for one night 
to visit a sick relative in a distant camp. The general 
kindly recognized me, shook hands, and when I pre- 
sented the application he read and returned it, saying, 
' 1 can't approve your leave of absence, Mr. Smith.' I 
was greatly disa]ipointed, and felt somewhat hurt at 
what seemed to me to be a harsh and arbitrary decision ; 
but Mrs. Jackson afterwards told me that he wrote to 
her that he regretted that the regulation would not per- 
mit him to grant the leave. [Mr. Smith was a fi-iend 
of his wife.] While I was still in the artillery, in the 
early spring of 1862, and encamped at Rude's Hill, the 
general came to our camp one day in my abs?nce, and 
created a great stir by asking for Corporal Smith. Great 
expectations were aroused that Corporal Smith was to 



INCIDENTS TOLD BY REV. DR. J. P. SMITH. 377 

be appointed to some office or special duty, but on ray 
return it was found he had called to leave me a pack- 
age of religious tracts for distributimi in the camp ! 

" At Frederick City, Maryland, I received a message 
to call at General Jackson's headquarters, when he 
asked me to accept the position of aide-de-camp on 
his staff. It was a great surprise to me, and at first 
embarrassed me. He spoke kindly of liis desire to 
have me with him, and of the time it would take me 
to prepare for his service [in getting a uniform], 
saying, ^ I have hut one suit myself, sir.'' He gave me 
leave of absence from the army for six days to go 
back to Virginia to secure clothing, etc., saying, ' I need 
your services as soon as possible.' He was exceeding- 
ly gracious and pleasant in manner and word to me. 

" One evening, when our headquarters were at Miln- 
wood, Clarke County, Virginia, the young men became 
convinced that the general and his army would pass 
over the mountain gap near by to Eastern Virginia. I 
was exceedingly anxious to visit Winchester before we 
went east, and went to his tent, saying, ' General, as 
we are going aci'oss the mountains to-morrow, I wish 
to go to Winchester early in the morning.' He smiled 
in a peculiar way and said, ' Are you going over the 
mountains to-morrow? Then, certainly, Mr. Smith 
you can go to Winchester ; but do/i't tell any one that 
we are going over the mountains,' and he laughed at 
my expense. I went to Winchester early in the morn- 
ing, and, after an hour or so, was returning on the 
Milnwood road, when, at a turn of the road, I sudden- 
ly met General Jackson and staff. He laughed as I 
rode up, saying, ' Are you going over the mountains, 
Mr. Smith ?' And I found that, instead of going over 



878 LIKE OF GENERAL TUUMAS J. JACKSON. 

the mountains, he was moving his headquarters to 
Winchester, apparently for the winter. 

"The general and myself rode with orderlies from 
Orange Court-House down the plank-road in Decem- 
ber, 1862, dining at the Rev. Melzi Chancellor's, near 
the Wilderness church, turning to the right at Salem 
church, where we saw many refugees from P'redericks- 
burg in the falling snow. W^e passed Mrs. French's 
place, and found General Lee's headquarters after 
dark, on the main road, the tent pitched in the pine 
woods. General Lee's reception was exceedingly kind 
and hospitable. After a little while General Jackson 
took me out, and told me to ritle to a house near by 
and ask for lodging during the night. Tlie host was 
a vehement old gentleman, who at first refused sharp- 
ly to hear me, but when I succeeded in making him 
understand that General Jackson wanted entertain- 
ment, he was greatly aroused, threw open his door, 
and told me to tell General Jackson to come at once 
to his house — that all he had was the general's. He 
entertained us with great hospitality and quite com- 
fortably. The next night our tents were near the resi 
dence of Mrs. French, by whose invitation the general 
and two or three of our young men took tea with her. 
It was a charming and memorable Sunday evening. 
The house was warm and briglit, and the society most 
agreeable, after a long campaign and hard marching. 
The tea-table was more than attractive. I remember 
the general as seated on -^ sofa, between ^^rs. French 
and old Miss Hetty Lily, and that, at Mrs. French's 
request, he took the family Bible and conducted fam- 
ily worship, after which we took leave, and went 
throuffh the snow to our cheerless tents. 



A CHRISTMAS DINNER. 379 

" The general suggested to me to prepare for a dinner 
on Christmas Day. He wished to invite General Lee 
and others to dine with him. I had the good fortune 
to secure a fine turkey ; a bucket of oysters came from 
down the river; a box was received by the general 
from some Staunton ladies, containing a variety of 
good things ; and our dinner was quite well set forth. 
Generals Lee, Stuart, Pendleton, and others were 
guests. General Lee rallied us very much on our af- 
fectation — a dining-room servant with a white apron 
on specially amused him. He often laughed at us for 
' playing soldiers,' and said we lived too well. 

" General Jackson always enjoyed the visits of Gen- 
eral Stuart, Avhose gayety and humor charmed him, 
and no one thought of being so familiar with our gen- 
eral as Stuart. On this occasion he made himself very 
merry at finding Jackson in the office of old Mr. Cor- 
bin, whose walls were decorated with pictures of 
race-horses, fine stock, game-cocks, and a famous rat- 
terrier! To the great amusement of Jackson and his 
guests, Stuart pretended to regard these as General 
Jackson's own selections, and as indications of his pri- 
vate tastes — indicating a great decline in his morale 
character, wliich would be a grief and disappointment 
to the pious old ladies of the South. To add to the 
merriment. General Jackson had received among his 
presents a cake of butter, with a gallant chanticleer 
stamped upon it, and this adorned the table. General 
Stuart held it up in his hands, and called the company 
to witness that their host actually carried his sport- 
ing tastes so far that he had his favorite game-cock 
stamped on his butter, as though it were a coat-of- 
arras ! 



380 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

" During the winter spent at Moss Neck, General 
Jackson took me with him to General Lee's head- 
quarters on one occasion when a deep snow was fall- 
ing. General Lee said he regfretted that General 
Jackson should come out such a day, whereupon the 
latter, smiling pleasantly, said : ' I received your note, 
sir, saying you wished to see me.' 

■' I remember a pleasant visit to Hayfield, the resi- 
dence of a Mr. Ta^'lor. Generals Lee, Stuart, Pendle- 
ton, and Jackson were present, with Pelham and other 
staff-officers. General Lee was very facetious, and de- 
scribed these general officers to old Mrs. Taylor with 
much good humor. He told her that ' General Jack- 
son, who was smiling so pleasantly near her, was the 
most cruel and inhuman man she had ever seen.' She 
demurred, saying she had always heard that General 
Jackson was '« good^ Christian man.'' General Lee 
said, ' Wh}', when we had the battle up at Fredericks- 
burg, do j'ou know, Mrs. Ta^ior, it was as much as we 
could do to prevent him from taking his men, with 
bayonets on their guns, and driving the enemy into 
the river?' Mrs. Taylor began to see his humor, and 
said : ' Well, General Lee, if the Yankees ever cross 
here, at our place, I hope aou won't prevent him from 
drivins: them into the river.' " 



-■o 



In these pleasant winter-quarters at Moss Neck, the 
residence of Mr. Corbin, General Jackson remained 
until spring. 



CHAPTER XX. 

WINTER QUARTERS, CHAPLAINS, AND CORRESPONDENCE— 

1863. 

Aftee the battle of Fredericksburg there was no 
other advance of the enemy during the winter; and 
General Jackson spent a peaceful, but very industrious, 
winter at Moss Neck. The winter-quarters of his 
troops extended from near Guiney's Station towards 
Port Royal; and after providing them with shelter, 
which consisted of huts built by themselves, he de- 
voted himself to writing his reports, and to the gen- 
eral welfare of his troops, both temporal and spiritual. 
Particularly did he bend his energies towards disci- 
plining and strengthening his command. The almost 
superhuman exertions in marching and fighting had 
caused many soldiers to absent themselves from the 
array without leave, and this was an evil for which he 
had no toleration, and Avhich he made the most stren- 
uous efforts to correct. He was also greatly interested 
this winter in providing his army with chaplains, and 
in trying to infuse more zeal into those who were al- 
ready in this service. He encouraged all denomina- 
tions to labor in his command, co-operating with each 
in every way in his power. All he wished to know of 
a man was that he was a true Christian and an earnest 
worker in the cause of his Master. Roman Catholics 
were granted the same facilities as Protestants for 
holding their services. On one occasion a priest ap- 



382 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

plied to liim for a tent in which to conduct worship with 
soldiers of his own faith, and Jackson, after satisfying 
himself by inquiry that he was a man of exemplary 
character, granted his request, and, with a decision 
that restrained all adverse expressions against it, he 
added : " He shall have it, I care not what may be 
said on the subject." A Presbyterian minister, in de- 
scribing a service held in the general's camp, said : 
" So we had a Presbyterian sermon, introduced by 
Baptist services, under the direction of a Methodist 
chaplain, in an Episcopal church ! Was not that a 
beautiful solution of the vexed problem of Christian 
union ?" 

Of the religious character of General Jackson this 
preacher said : "The sentiment which fills his soul is 
his sense of the necessity and power of prayer — prayer 
in the army ; prayer for the army ; prayer by the 
whole country. I am sure it makes him glad and 
strong to know how many of the best people in the 
world pray for him without ceasing." He pictures the 
general's "firm and hopeful face," "the placid dili- 
gence of his daily toils," and his attendance on the 
service in the little log church built by his own sol- 
diers, " which was already so full upon his arrival that 
the men were said to be packed like herrings in a bar- 
rel, and he and General Paxton modestly retired, lest 
they should displace some already within. One could 
not sit in that pulpit and meet the concentrated gaze 
of those men without deep emotion. I remembered 
that they were the veterans of many a bloody field. 
The eyes which looked into mine, waiting for the gos- 
pel of peace, had looked as steadfastly upon whatever 
is terrible in war. The voices which now poured 



CONCERX FOR HIS SOLDIERS' RELIGIOUS WELFARE. 383 

forth theii" strength in singing the songs of Zion had 
shouted in the charge and the victory. . . . Their 
ea/mestnes8 of aspect constantly impressed me. . . . 
They looked as if they had come on business, and very 
important business, and the preacher could scarcely 
do otherwise than feel that he, too, had business of 
moment there ! " 

A chaplain relates that on the eve of the battle of 
Fredericksburg he saw an officer, wrapped in his over- 
coat so that his marks of rank could not be seen, lying 
just in the rear of a batter}', quietly reading his Bible. 
He approached and entered into conversation on the 
prospects of the impending battle, but the officer soon 
changed the conversation to religious topics, and the 
chaplain was led to ask, " Of what regiment are 
you chaplain r' What was his astonishment to find 
that the quiet Bible-reader and fluent talker upon re- 
ligious subjects was none other than the famous 
Stonewall Jackson. 

During one of his battles, while he was waiting in 
the rear of a part of his command which lie had put 
in position to engage the attention of the enemy while 
another division had been sent to flank them, a j'oung 
officer on his staff gave him a copy of the sketch of 
" Captain Dabney Carr Harrison," a young Presbyte- 
rian minister, widely known and loved in Virginia, 
who had been killed at Fort Donelson. He expressed 
himself as highly gratified at getting the sketch, and 
entered into an earnest conversation on the power of 
Christian example. He was interrupted by an officer, 
who reported " the enemy advancing," but paused only 
long enough to give the laconic order, " Open on them," 
and then resumed the conversation, which he con tin- 



384 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ued for some time, only pausing now and then to re- 
ceive despatciaes and give necessary orders. 

General Jackson's views on the work of the spirit- 
ual improvement of his array, which so absorbed his 
heart and labors the last winter of his life, are ex- 
pressed in a letter to his pastor, in which he says : 

"You suggest that I give my views and wishes in 
such form and extent as I am willing should be made 
public. This I shrink from doing, because it looks like 
presumption in me to come before the public and even 
intimate what course I think should be pursued by the 
people of God. I have had so little experience in 
church mattei-s as to make it proper, it seems to me. 
to keep quiet beyond the expression of my views to 
friends. Whilst I feel that this is the proper course 
for me to pursue, and the one which is congenial to 
my feelings, yet if you and Colonel Preston, who have 
both had large experience in the church, after prayer- 
ful consideration, are of opinion that my name, in con- 
nection with my wishes, will be the means of doing 
good, I do not desire any sensibility that I may have 
to be a drawback in the way. I desire myself and ail 
that I have to be dedicated to the service of God. . . . 
After maturely considering what I write, and after 
prayerful consultation between yourself and Colonel 
Preston, you can with propriety publish, should you 
think best, anytliing I may have said, without sayinxf 
that stich was my view. 

" My views are summed up in these few words : 
Each Christian branch of the Church should send 
into the army some of its most prominent ministers. 
who are distinguished for their piety, talents, and 



CHAPLAINS LV THE ARMY. 385 

zeal ; and such ministers shoukl laboi" to produce con- 
cert of action among chaplains and Christians in the 
army. These ministers should give special attention 
to preaching to regiments which are without chap- 
lains, and induce them to take steps to get chaplains; 
to let the regiments name the denomination from 
which they desire cliaplains selected ; and then to see 
that suitable chaplains are secured. A bad selection 
of a chaplain may prove a curse instead of a blessing. 
If a few prominent ministers thus connected with 
each army would cordially' co-operate, I believe that 
glorious fruits would be the result. Denominational 
distinctions should be kept out of view, and not 
touched upon ; and, as a general rule, I do not think 
that a chaplain who would preach denominational 
sermons should be in the army. His congregation is 
his regiment, and it is composed of jiersons of various 
denominations. I would like to see no questions 
asked in the army as to what denomination a chap- 
lain belongs ; but let the question be, ' Does he preach 
the Gospel?' The neglect of spiritual interests in the 
army may be partially seen in the fact that not half 
of my regiments have chaplains." 

General Jackson selected the Rev. Dr. B. T. Lacy 
(who was commissioned by the government as a 
general chaplain) to begin tliis plan of labor, and it 
proved very successful. His mission was to preach at 
headquarters every Sabbath while the troops were 
in camp. A temporary pulpit and rough seats were 
constructed in an open field, and here all were invited 
to come and worship. Dr. Lacy was an able speak- 
er, attractive and interesting ; and the constant at- 
25 



386 I'lt'E OF GENERAL THOMAS .1. JACKSON. 

tendance of General Jackson and frequent appear- 
ance of General Lee and other distinguished officers 
soon drew vast ci'owds of soldiers to the scene, and 
nianj' became changed men. General Jackson often 
seated himself in the ranks, in the midst of his hum- 
blest soldiers, setting them an example by his devout 
attention and delight in the services, and, by his per- 
sonal interest, leading tliem to follow the great Cap- 
tain of their salvation. He requested all the chaplains 
and evangelists in his corps to meet together weekly 
for conference over their duties, and to report the 
progress of their laboi-s. Ilis sense of delicacy for- 
bade his own attendance on these meetings, but he 
manifested the liveliest interest in them — always 
greeting Dr. Lacy upon his return from the meetings 
in his accustomed military style, saying to him: 
" Now come and re]K)rt." " The stated meetings of 
the chaplains," says Dr. Dabney, " were the means of 
awakening them to a greatly increased zeal and fidel- 
ity, as well as of adding system and concert to their 
labors, so that this service was now thoroughly reno- 
vated. Thus the energy of General Jackson's will, 
though so modestly exerted, made itself felt among 
his chaplains, just as among his staif and field officers, 
in communicating efficiency and vigor to all their 
performance of duty." 

The Stonewall Brigade was the first to build a log 
chapel, which was formally dedicated to the service 
of God. Others soon followed the example, and, thus 
protected against the rigors of winter, the soldiers 
frequently met during the week for prayer, praise, 
and Bible instruction — the sacred pages being illumi- 
nated by pine torches from the forest. General Jack- 



WORSHIP IK THE OPEN AIR. 337 

son often attended these meetings, and led in humble, 
earnest prayer. 

General J. B. Gordon, the late Governor of Georgia, 
and now for the second time representing his State 
in the United States Senate, testifies to the good 
wrought bj^ these services in the army. In a letter 
appealing for chaplains to be sent by the churches, 
he says : " Daily in the great temple of nature, and 
at night by heaven's chandeliers, are audiences of 
from one to two thousand men anxious to hear the 
way of life. Manj^ of them, neglected, as I must say 
they have been by Christians at home, are daily pro- 
fessing religion — men grown old in sin, and who 
never blanched in the presence of the foe, are made 
to tremble under a sense of guilt, and here in the 
forests and fields are being converted to God ; young 
men, over whose departure from the jiatei-nal I'oof 
and from pious influences have been slied so many 
bitter tears, have been enabled, under the preaching 
of a few faithful ministers, to give parents and friends 
at home such assurances as to change those hitter 
tears into tears of rejoicing." 

General Jackson had one other pi-oject for the 
spiritual welfare of his country, which was the estab- 
lishment of a Christian daily newspaper. His views 
on this subject will be seen in the following letter to 
his father-in-law : 

" Near FnEUERiCKSBtrKQ, March 38tli, 1863. 
" Rev. Dr. R. H. Morrison : 

" Dear Sir, — Knowing that you take a deep interest 
in the progress of the church, I write to say that on 
3'esterday the proclamation of onr President for a 



388 LIKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

day of humiliation and prayer received in the army 
a more general response than I have seen on any 
similar occasion since the beginning of the war. . . . 
It was arranged among the chaplains that each one 
of them should preach twice yesterday' — once to their 
own troops, and once to other troops, thus giving an 
opportunity of having the Gospel preached as exten- 
sively as practicable. I trust that yesterday was a 
solemn day throughout the Confederacy, and hope 
its good fruits will be abundant, and that God in 
His mercy will give us a speedy peace, so marked 
by His interposing hand that all shall recognize and 
acknowledge it as His gift. 

" I feel a deep interest in seeing a Christian daily 
paper established. I believe there is not a single (hiily 
paper in the countrj'^ but which violates the Sabbath 
by printing on that holy day for its Monday's issue. 
I have thought upon this subject for several years, and 
it appears to me that now is a good time to start 
such a paper whilst our country is in trouble, and is 
looking to God for assistance. How can we consist- 
ently ask God to bless us when we continue to en- 
courage, for the gratification of curiosity, a disregard 
for His holy law 'i Such a paper as it appears to ine 
is demanded would give us as early news as is at 
present received at the printing-office on Sunda_y, as 
the paper, which would be mailed on Monday, w.)uld 
be printed on Saturday instead of Sunday. H' such 
a paper could be established, it might be the means 
of influencing the future course of our country. Wliat 
do you think of such an undertaking ? 
"Very truly yours. 

"T. .1. Jackson." 



LETTER ON SrNPAY MAILS. :^89 

His increasing solicitude for the spiritual good of his 
country is shown in tiie following letter to Colonel 
Boteler on the subject of Sabbath mails. These views 
have before been given ; but as this letter was per- 
haps his last appeal on the subject, this fact may add 
more weight to them : 

" I have read the Congressional report of the com- 
mittee recommending the repeal of the law requiring 
the mails to be carried on the Sabbath ; and I hope 
that you will feel it a duty as well as a pleasure to 
urge its repeal. I do not see how a nation that thus 
arrays itself, by such a law, against God's holy day 
can expect to escape His wrath. The punishment of 
national sins must be confined to this world, as there 
are no nationalities beyond the grave. For fifteen 
years I have refused to mail letters on Sunday, or to 
take them out of tlie office on that day, except since 
I came into the field ; and, so far from having to 
regret my course, it has been a source of true enjoy- 
ment. I have never sustained loss in observing what 
God enjoins ; and I am well satisfied that the law 
should be repealed at the earliest practicable moment. 
My rule is, to let the Sabbath mails remain unopened, 
unless they contain a despatch ; but despatches are 
generally sent by couriers or telegraph, or some spe- 
cial messenger. I do not recollect a single instance 
of any special despatch having reached me, since the 
commencement of the war, by the mails. 

"If you desire the repeal of the law, I trust j^ou 
will bring all your influence to bear in its accomplish- 
ment. Now is the time, it appears to me, to effect so 
desirable an object. I understand that not only our 



390 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

President, but also most of his Cabinet and a ma- 
jority of our Congressmen are professing Christians. 
God has greatly blessed us, and I trust He will make 
us that people whose God is the Lord. Let us look 
to God for an illustration in our history that ' right- 
eousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to 
any people.' 

" Very truly your friend, 

"T. J. Jackson." 

To his friend Colonel Preston, of Lexington, he 
wrote with the same zeal, saying : 

" I greatly desire to see \>ea,c&—hlessed peace. And 
I am persuaded that if God's people throughout the 
Confederacy will earnestly and perseveringly unite in 
imploring His interposition for peace, we may expect 
it. Let our government acknowledge the God of 
the Bible as its God, and we may expect soon to be 
a happy and independent people. It appears to me 
that extremes are to be avoided ; and it also appears 
to me that the old United States occupied an extreme 
position in tlie means it took to prevent the union of 
Church and State. We call ourselves a Christian peo- 
ple ; and, in my opinion, our government may be of 
the same character, without connecting itself with an 
established Church. It does appear to me that as our 
President, our Congress, and our people have thanked 
God for victories, and prayed to Him for additional 
ones, and He has answered such prayers and gives us 
a government, it is gross ingratitude not to acknowl- 
edge Him in this gift. Let the framework of our gov- 
ernment show that we are not ungrateful to Him." 



VISIT OF AN ENGLISH OFFICER. 391 

In the beginning of the new year, Winchester was 
again occupied by the Federals. An extract from 
a letter to his helpful friend, Colonel Boteler, will 
show General Jackson's great concern and affection 
for his valley friends : 

" Though I have been relieved from command 
there, and may never again be assigned to that im- 
portant trust, yet I feel deeply when I see the patri- 
otic people of that region again under the heel of a 
hateful military despotism. There are all the homes 
of those who have been with me from the commence- 
ment of the war in Virginia; who have repeatedly 
left their families and homes in the bands of the 
enemy, and braved the dangers of battle and disease; 
and there are those who have so devotedly labored 
for the relief of our suffering sick and wounded." 

In another letter to the same friend, he sa^'s : " It 
is but natural that I should feel a deep and abiding 
interest in the people of the valley, where are the 
homes of so many of my brave soldiers who have 
been with me so long, and whose self-sacrificing 
patriotism has been so long tested." 

During this winter General Jackson received a visit 
from a captain in the English array, ^\■ho wrote an ac- 
count of it for an English paper or magazine, from 
which the following is a brief extract : 

" I brought from Nassau a box of goods for General 
Stonewall Jackson, and he asked me when I was at 
Richmond to come to his camp and see him. I left 
the city one morning about seven o'clock, and about 



392 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ten landed at a station, distant some eight or nine 
miles from Jackson's (or, as his men call him, ' Old 
Jack's') camp. A heavj-^ fall of snow had covered 
the country for some time before to the depth of a 
foot, and formed a crust over the Virginia mud, wliich 
is quite as villainous as that of Balaklava. Tiie day 
before had been mild and wet, and my journey was 
made m a drenching shower, which soon cleared away 
tlie wliite mantle of snow. You cannot imagine the 
slough of despond I had to pass through. Wet to the 
skin, I stumbled through mud, I waded through creeks, 
I passed through pine woods, and at last got into camp 
about two o'clock. I then made my way to a small 
house occupied by the general as his headquarters. I 
wrote down my name and gave it to the orderly, and 
I was immediately told to walk in. 

" The general rose and greeted me warmly. I ex- 
pected to see an old, untidy man, and was most agree- 
ably surprised and pleased with his appearance. lie 
is tall, handsome, and powerfully built, but thin. He 
has brown hair and a brown beard. His mouth ex- 
presses great determination. The lips are thin and 
compressed firmly together; his eyes are blue and 
dark, with keen and searching expression. I was told 
that his age was thirty-eight; and he looks forty. 
The general, who is indescribably simple ami unaf- 
fected in all his ways, took off my wet overcoat with 
his own hands, made up the fire, brought wood for 
me to put my feet on to keep them warm while my 
boots were drying, and then began to ask me ques- 
tions on various subjects. At the dinner-hour we 
went out and joined the members of his staff. At 
this meal the general said grace in a fervent, quiet 



THE OFFICERS IMPRESSIONS. 393 

manner, which struck me very much. After dinner 
I returned to his room, and he again talked for a long 
time. The servant came in and took his mattress out 
of a cupboard and laid it on the floor. 

" As I rose to retire, the general said : ' Captain, 
there is plenty of room on my bed ; I hope you will 
share it Avith me.' I thanked him very much for his 
courtesy, but said, ' Good-night,' and slept in a tent, 
sharing the blankets of one of his aides-de-camp. In 
the morning, at breakfast-time, I noticed that the 
general said grace before the meal with the same 
fervor I had remarked before. An hour or two after- 
wards it was time for me to return to the station ; on 
this occasion, however, I had a horse, and I returned 
up to the general's headquarters to bid him adieu. 
His little room was vacant, so I stepped in and stood 
before the fire. I then noticed my great-coat stretched 
before it on a chair. Shortly afterwards the general 
entered the room. He said : ' Captain, I have been 
trying to dry your great-coat, but I am afraid I have 
not succeeded very well.' That little act illustrates 
the man's character. Witii the care and responsi- 
bilities of a vast array on his shoulders, he finds lime 
to do little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, which 
make him the darling of his men, who never seem to 
tire talking of him. 

" General Jackson is a man of great endurance ; he 
drinks nothing stronger than water, and never uses to- 
bacco or any stimulant. He has been known to ride for 
three days and nights at a time, and if there is any labor 
to be undergone he never fails to take his share of it." 

During tliis winter, at Moss Neck, General Jack- 



394 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

son's Christian activity anci spirituality became more 
raai'ked than ever before, showing a rich ripening for 
the rewards and glories of the heavenly inheritance. 
To a friend he expressed his perfect assurance of faith, 
and said he had been for a long time a stranger to 
fear, " because he liiew and was assured of the love of 
Christ to his soul ; he felt not the faintest dread that 
he should ever fall under the wrath of God, although 
a great sinner; he was forever reconciled by the 
righteousness of Christ, and that love for God and 
Christ was now the practical s]iring of all his peni- 
tence." He then arose from liis seat, and with an 
impressive union of humility and solemn elevation 
continued, in substance, thus : " Nothing earthly can 
mar my happiness. I know that heaven is in store for 
me; and I siiouid rejoice in the pi-ospect of going 
there to-mori-ow. Understand me : I am not sick, I 
am not sad ; God has greatly blessed me ; I have as 
much to love here as any man, and life is very bright 
to me. But still I am ready to leave it any day, 
without trepidation or regret, for that heaven which 
I know awaits me, through the mercy of my Jleavenly 
Father. And I would not agree to the slightest diminu- 
tion of one shade of my glory there — [here he paused, 
as though to consider what terrestrial measure he might 
best select to express the largeness of his jo^'s] — no, 
not for all the fame I have acquired or shall ever win 
in this world." "With these words ho sank into his 
chair, and his friend retired, impressed as he had never 
been before by the e.xalted faitii and perfect assurance 
that God had vouchsafed to this Christian soldiei-. 

All his Christian friends observed this winter how 
much his mind dwelt upon spiritual matters, his con- 



HIS FONDNESS FOR A CHILD. 395 

versation almost invariably drifting into that channel; 
and his favorite subjects were steadfastness of faith, 
diligent performance of duty, after invoking God's 
blessing and committing our cause to Him, and yield- 
ing a perfect obedience to His will. He loved to con- 
sider the modes by which God reveals His will to man, 
and often quoted the maxim, " Duty is ours ; conse- 
quences are God's." It was a continued delight to him 
to dwell upon the blessedness of perfect acquiescence 
in the Divine will. He frequently said that his first 
desire was to command a " converted army." 

But while thus desiring and striving for the S])iritual 
good of his men, his diligence was also unremitting in 
training and strengthening his corps for active service 
in the commg campaign, and it increased in efficiency 
and numbers more than at any former period. It was 
brought up to number over thirty thousand active sol- 
diers, who drew their inspiration from his own spirit 
of confidence and determination. 

In the family of Mr. Corbin, of Moss Neck, was a 
lovely little girl, about six years of age, named Jane, 
who became a special pet with General Jackson. Her 
pretty face and winsome ways were so charming to 
him that he requested her mother as a favor that he 
might have a visit from her every afternoon when his 
day's labors were over, and her innocent companion- 
ship and sweet prattle were a great pleasure and recre- 
ation to him. He loved to hold her upon his knee, 
and sometimes he played and romped with her, his 
hearty laughter mingling merrily with that of the 
child. He always had some little treat in store for her 
as she came each day — an orange, an apple, candy or 
cake; but the supply of such things becoming exhaust- 



396 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS .1. JACKSON. 

ed in his scanty quarters, one afternoon he found 
he had nothing tempting to offer her, and in glanc- 
ing around the room his eye fell upon a new gray 
cap which he had just received from his wife, and 
which was ornamented with a simple band of gilt 
braid — the most modest mark of his rank that a field 
officer could wear. Takmg up this cap, with his knife 
he ripped off the band, and encircling it around little 
Janie's fair head, he stood off admiringly, and said : 
" This shall be your coronet !'" 

This little one of tender years was destined to pre- 
cede her friend to the "land of pure delight." The 
very day of his removal from Moss Neck she died. 
His aide, Mr. Smith, said: "We learned of Janie's 
death aftei- we reached our new camp, near Yerbv's, 
and when I went in to tell the general, he was much 
moved, and wept freely. Afterwards he requested me 
to ride back to Moss Neck that night to express his 
sympathy, and to* remain to be of any service that I 
could to the family." 

General Jackson himself thus alludes to the death 
of his little favorite in one of his letters : " I never 
wrote you about the bereavement of my kind friend 
Mrs. Corbin. She had an only daughter, probably 
about five or six yeai's old. and one of the most at- 
tractive, if not the most so, that I ever saw at that 
age. A short time before I left there, the little girl 
was taken sick with scarlet fever, but appeared to be 
doinsT well. I called to see Mrs. Corbin the evening 
before leaving, and talked to her of her little daugh- 
ter, whom I supposed to be out of danger, and she too 
appeared to think so ; but the next morning she was 
taken very ill, and in a few hours died of malignant 



DEATH OF HIS LITTLK FAVORITE. 397 

scarlet fever. There were two other little children, 
cousins of little Janie, who were staying at the same 
house, and both of them died of the same disease in a 
few days." He was led to speak of these deaths by 
hearing of the loss of my sister Mrs. Avery's first- 
born, of which he says: " TFe can sympathize with 
her, and I wish I could comfort her, but no human 
comfort can fully meet her case ; only the Redeemer 
can, and I trust that she finds Jesus precious, most 
precious, in this her sad hour of trial. Give my ten- 
derest love and sympathy to her." 

About this time his own little daughter had a severe 
case of chicken-pox, and his parental anxieties were 
greatly awakened. In his desire to render all the aid 
he could, even at so great a distance, he consulted his 
medical director. Dr. McGuire, that he might write 
his wife the advice prescribed. His tender devotion 
to the little daugliter whom he had never seen was 
surprising to the young doctor, and his voice quivered 
with agitation as he said on leaving him, " I do wish 
that dear child, if it is God's will, to be spared to us." 

The following extracts from his letters testify to 
this same paternal interest and affection, and also re- 
veal his ever-increasing spiritual joy and gratitude : 

" January 5tli, 1863. 
. . . " How much I do want to see you and our 
darling baby ! But I don't know when I shall have 
this happiness, as I am afraid, since hearing so nmcli 
about the little one's health, that it would be impru- 
dent to bring it upon a journey, so I must just con- 
tent myself. Mrs. General Longstreet, Mrs. General 
A. P. Hill, and Mrs. General Rodes have all been to 



398 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

see their husbands. Yesterday 1 saw Mis. Rodes 
at church, and she looked so happy that it made 
me wish I had Mrs. Jaciison here too; but whilst I 
cannot see my wife and baby, it is a great comfort 
to know that you have a darling little pet to keep 
you company in my absence. ... I heard a good ser- 
mon at Grace Church (where General Hill has his 
headquarters) by an Episcopal minister, Mr. Friend. 
Colonel Faulkner is with us again, and I expect hmi 
to take the position of mj' senior adjutant-general." 

•' January 6th. I am very thankful to our kind 
Heavenly Father for good tidings from you and baby 
— specially that she is restored again to health, and I 
trust that we all three may so live as most to glorify 
His holy name. ... I have a visor, but I hope I .shall 
not iiave to sleep in a tent any more this winter. My 
ears are still troubling me, but I am very thankful 
that my hearing is as good as usual, and from my aj)- 
pearance one would sujipose that I was perfectly well. 
Indeed, my health is essentially good, but I do not 
think I shall be able in future to stand what I have 
already stood, although, with the exception of the in- 
creased sensitiveness of my ears, my health has im- 
proved. I am sorry to hear that dear mothers health 
does not im]>rove. . . . We have several cases of sniall- 
])0x at Guiney's, and I expect you will have to give up 
all idea of coming to see me until spring, as I fear it 
would be too much of a risk for you and baby to travel 
up here. 

"The other day I received from the citizens of 
Augusta County a magnificent hoi-se, with an excel- 
lent saddle and bridle. It is the most complete riding 



LETTER TO HIS WIFE, 399 

equipment that I have seen. M}- kind friends went so 
far as to get patent stirrups, constructed so as to open 
and throw the foot from the stirrup in the event of 
the rider being thrown and the foot hung in the stir- 
rups. How kind is God to us ! Oh that I were more 
grateful !" 

"January 17th. Yesterday I had the pleasure of 
receiving a letter fiom my esposita four days after it 
was written. Doesn't it look as if Confederate mails 
are better tlian United States mails? Don't you re- 
member how long it took for letters to come from 
Charlotte to Lexington undci" the old regime? I de- 
rive an additional pleasure in reading a letter from the 
conviction tliat it has not travelled on the Sabbath. 
How delightful will be our heavenly home, where 
everything is sanctified I ... I am gratified at iiear- 
ing that you have commenced disciplining the baby. 
Now be careful, and don't let her conquer you. She 
must not be permitted to have tliat will of her own, of 
which you speak. How I would love to see the little 
darling, whom I love so tenderly, though I have never 
seen her ; and if the war were only over, I tell you, I 
would hurry down to North Carolina to see my wife 
and baby. I liave much work to do. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Faulkner is of great service to me in making 
out my reports. Since he is my senior adjutant-gen- 
eral, Pendleton is promoted to a majority, and is the 
junior adjutant-general. Major Bier, my chief of ord- 
nance, has been ordered to Charleston, and Captain 
William Allan, of Winchester, is his successor. Colonel 
Smeade is my inspector-general, so you must not com- 
plain of my not writing to you about my staff. I re- 



400 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gret to see our Winchester friends again in the hands 
of the enemy. I trust that, in answer to prayer, our 
country will soon be blessed with peace. If we were 
only that obedient people that we should be, I would, 
with increased confidence, look for a speedy termina- 
tion of hostilities. Let us pra}^ more and live more to 
the glory of God. ... I am still thinking and think- 
ing about that baby, and do want to see her. Can't 
you send hei' to me bj^ express i There is an express 
line all the way to Guiney's. I am glad to hear that 
she sleeps well at night, and doesn't disturb her moth- 
er. But it would be better not to call her a cherub; no 
earthly being is such. I am also gratified that Hetty 
is doing well. Remember me to he)% and tell her that, 
as I liidn't give her a present last Christmas, I intend 
giving her two next. . . . Don't you accuse ray baby of 
not being brave. I do hope she will get over her fear 
of strangers. If, before strangers take her, you would 
give them something to please her, and thus make her 
have pleasant associations with them, and seeing them 
frequently. I trust she would lose her timidity. It is 
gratifying that she is growing so well, and I am thank- 
ful she is so bright and knowing. I do wish I could 
see her funny little ways, and hear her 'squeal out 
with deliffht' at seeing the little chickens. I am some- 
times afraid that }'ou will make such an idol of that 
baby that God will take her from us. Are i/ou not 
afraid of it ? Kiss her for her father. 

"I have this morning received two presents — a 
pair of gauntlets from near the Potomac, and another 
beautiful pair from Mrs. Preston Trotter, of Browns- 
burg. A kind gentleman, Mr. Stephens, of Nelson 
County, sent me a barrel of select pippins."' 



THE STONEWALL BRIGADE BUILDS A LOG CHURCH. 401 

" .lanuary 31st. Captain Bushby, of the British 
Army, called to see me to-day, aud presented me 
with a water-proof oil-cloth case in which to sleep on 
a wet night in summer campaigning. I can encase 
myself in it, keep dry, and get a good night's sleep." 

'' February 3d. In answer to the pra\'ers of God's 
people, I trust He will soon give us peace. I haven't 
seen my wife for nearly a year — ray home in nearlj' 
two years, and have never seen our darling little 
daughter; but it is important that I, and those at 
headquarters, should set an example of remaining at 
the post of duty. Joseph would like very much to 
go home, but unless mother gets worse, he had better 
not. . . ..My old Stonewall Brigade has built a log 
church. As yet I have not been in it. I am much 
interested in reading Hunter's ' Life of Moses.' It is 
a delightful book, and I feel more improved in read- 
ing it than by an ordinary sermon. I am thankful 
to say that my Sabbaths are passed more in medi- 
tation than formerly. Time thus spent is genuine 
enjoyment." 

" February 7th. This has been a beautiful spring 
day. I have been thinking lately about gardening. 
If I were at home, it would be time for me to begin 
to prepare the hot-bed. Don't you remember what 
interest we used to take in our hot-bed ? If we should 
be privileged to return to our old home, I expect we 
would find many changes. An ever-kind Providence 
is showering blessings down upon me. Yesterday 
Colonel M. G. Harman and Mr. William J. BeU, jun., 
of Staunton, presented me with an excellent horse. 
26 



402 LIFE (IK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

As yet I have not mounted him, but I saw another 
person ride him, and I hope soon to have that pleasure 
myself. . . . Just to think our haby is nearly three 
months old. Does she notice and laugh much ? You 
have never told me how much she looks like her mother. 
I tell you, I want to know how she looks. If you could 
hear me talking to my esposa in the mornings and 
evenings, it would make you laugh, I'm sure. It is 
funny the way I talk to her when she is hundreds of 
miles away. . . . Jim has returned from Lexington, 
and brought a letter from ' Cy ' [a negro servant], 
asking permission to take unto himself a wife, to 
which I intend to give my consent, provided you or 
his mother do not object. ... I am so much con- 
cerned about mother's health as to induce me to rec- 
ommend a leave of absence for Joseph. I send this 
note by him, and also send the baby a silk handker- 
chief. I have thought tliat as it is brightly colored, 
it might attract her attention. Eemember, it is her 
lirst present from her father, and let me know if 
she notices it.'' [This handkerchief has ever since 
been sacredly preserved as a precious relic] 

'■ February 1-lth. Your delightful letter of six pages 
received a welcome rece])tion this evening. I am 
thankful to see that our kind Heavenly Father is 
again restoring mother to health. I felt uneasy about 
her, and thought that Joseph had better make a 
visit home. I have made the restoration of mother's 
health a subject of prayer; but tiien we know that 
our dear ones are mortal, and that God does not 
always answer jirayer according to our erring feel- 
ings. I think that if, when we see ourselves in a 



LETTER TO HIS WIFE. 403 

glass, we should consider that all of us that is visible 
must turn to corruption and dust, we would learn 
more justly to appreciate the relative importance of 
the body that perishes and the soul that is immortal. 
. . . Your accounts of baby are very gratifying, and 
intensify my desire to see her. If peace is not con- 
cluded before next winter, I do hope you can bring 
her and spend the winter with me. Tliis would be 
very delightful. If we are spai'ed, I trust an ever- 
kind Providence will enable us to be together all 
winter. I am glad little Juha was pleased with her 
present, and wish I could have seen her laugh. . . . 
You say you don't see any use of my not taking a 
furlough. I think that the army would be much more 
efficient if all belonging to it were present. ... I do 
trust and pray that our people will religiously ob- 
serve the 2Tth of next month as a day of humiliation, 
prayer, and fasting, as our President has designated 
in his proclamation. To-morrow is the Sabbath. My 
Sabbaths are looked forward to with pleasure. I 
don't know that I ever enjoyed Sabbaths as I do this 
winter. ... I don't think I have written you about 
recent presents. About a week since, I received from 
Mr. W. F. De la Eue, of London, a superb English 
saddle, bridle, holsters, saddle-cover, blankets, whip, 
spurs, etc. — the most complete riding equipage that I 
have seen for many a day. Its completeness is re- 
markable. This evening I received from Mi". John 
Johnson, of London, a box containing two flannel 
shirts, two pairs of long woollen stockings extending 
above the knees, a buckskin shirt, a pair of boots, a 
pair of leather leggings extending about eight inches 
above the knees, two pairs of excellent fitting leather 



404 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gloves, and a very superior variegated colored blanket. 
Our ever-kind Heavenly Father gives me friends 
among strangers. He is the source of every blessing, 
and I desire to be more grateful to Him." 

" March 7th. I have just finished my report of the 
battle of McDowell. . . . There is a good deal of re- 
ligious interest in the army. Rev. Mr. Lac^' is with 
me now, and I expect will continue with the army 
during the war. Rev. William J. Hoge is here, and 
has preached several sermons. Rev. Mr. Hopkins is 
chaplain of the Second Regiment of Virginia Volun- 
teers. If you were here you would find a number 
of friends." 

"March 14th. The time has about come for cam- 
paigning, and I hope early next week to leave my 
room, and go into a tent near Hamilton's Crossing, 
which is on the railroad, about five miles from Fred- 
ericksburg. It is rather a relief to get where there 
will be less comfort than in a room, as I hope thereby 
persons will be prevented from encroaching so much 
upon my time. I am greatly behind in my reports, 
and am very desirous to get through with them before 
another campaign commences. Do j'ou remember 
when my little wife used to come up to my head- 
quarters in Winchester and talk with her esposof 
I would love to see her sunnj' face peering into my 
room again. . . . On next Monday there is to be a 
meeting of the chaplains of my corps, and I pray 
that good may result. ... I am now in camp, but I 
do not know of any house near by where you could 
be accommodated, should you come ; and, moreover, 1 



HIS KAVOKITE HVMNS. 405 

might not be here when you would arrive, as the 
season for campaigning has come. Before this time 
last year, the campaign had begun, and, so far as we 
can see, it may begin again at an}' time. The move- 
ments of the enemy must influence ours, and we can't 
say where we shall be a week lience." 

" April 10th. I trust that God is going to bless us 
with great success, and in such a manner as to show 
that it is all His gift ; and I trust and pray that it 
will lead our country to acknowledge Ilim, and to 
live in accordance with His will as revealed in the 
Bible. There appears to be an increased religious 
interest among our troops here. Our chaplains have 
weekly meetings on Tuesdays; and the one of this 
week was more charming than the preceding one." 

After removing his headquarters to Hamilton Cross- 
ing, General Jackson established an altar of daily 
morning prayer in his military family. He was too 
liberal and unobtrusive in his own religion to exact 
compulsory attendance on the part of his staff; but 
their regartl for him prompted them to gratify his 
wishes, and he always greeted their presence with a 
face of beaming commendation. He appointed his 
chaplain to officiate at these services ; but if he was 
absent, the general took his place himself, and with 
the greatest fervor and humility offered up his tribute 
of praise and supplication. Meetings for prayer were 
held at his quarters twice a week, on Sunday and 
Wednesday evenings, and on Sunday afternoons he 
loved to engage the musical members of his staff in 
singing sacred songs, to which he listened with genu- 



406 LIFE OF (iENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

ine delight. He rarely let them stop without calling 
for the hymn beginning 

" How lia]>py are they 
Who the Saviour obey !" 

Other favorite hymns with him were : 

" Come, humble sinner, in whose breast 
A thousand thoughts revolve." 

" 'Tis my happiness below, 
Not to live without the cros&" 



And, 



"Wlien gathering clouds around I view, 
And days are dark and friends are few." 

"Glorious things of thee arc spoken, 
Zion, city of our God." 

[Sung to the tune of Harwell. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE LAST HAPPY DAYS.— CHAXCELLORSVILLE— 1863. 

As the spring advanced, and the season for cam- 
paigning drew nearer, General Jackson grew more 
and more anxious to have a visit from his wife and 
child. His solicitous consideration for the health and 
safety of the little one had led him to advise their not 
travellmg until the winter was over ; and now he 
showed great eagerness to have a visit before the cam- 
paign should open. On the ISth of April he wrote : 

... "I am beginning to look for my darling and 
my baby. I shouldn't be surjirised to hear at any 
time that they were coming, and I tell you there would 
be one delighted man. Last night I dreamed that my 
little wife and I were on opposite sides of a room, in 
the centre of which was a table, and the little baby 
started from her mother, making her way along under 
the table, and finally reached her father. And what 
do you think she did when she arrived at her destina- 
tion? She just climbed up on her father and kissed 
him ! And don't you think he was a happy man ? But 
when he awoke he found it all a delusion. I am glad 
to hear that she enjoys out-doors, and grows, and coos, 
and laughs. How I would love to see her sweet ways ! 
That her little chubby hands have lost their resem- 
blance to mine is not regretted by me. . . . Should I 



408 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

write to you to have any more pantaloons made for 
me, please do not have much gold braid about them. 
I became so ashamed of the broad gilt band that was 
on the cap you sent as to induce me to take it off. I 
like simplicity." 

" Saturday. Yesterday I received your letter, but 
you did not say a word about coming to see your es- 
poso. I do hope that ere this you have received mine, 
saying you could come, and that you at once got an 
escort and started. There is no time for hesitation if 
you have not started. There is increasing probability 
that I may be elsewhere as the season advances. But 
don't come unless you get a good escort. I am not 
certain that I can get accommodations for you ; l)ut I 
don't think there will be any difficulty about it, as I 
hope some kind neighbor would try to make us com- 
fortable for the short time that you may remain. I 
think that we might get in at Mr. Yerby's, which is 
less than a mile from my headquarters." 

Little Julia was nearly five months old now, and 
was plump, rosy, and good, and with her nurse, Hetty, 
we set out upon this visit, so full of interest and antici- 
pated joys. We made the journey safely, stopping in 
Richmond to spend Sunday, and arrived at Guiney's 
Station at noon on Monday, the 20th of April. Hetty 
and I were all anxiety to have our baby present her 
best appearance for her fathei-'s first sight of her, and 
she could not have better realized our wishes. She 
awoke from a long, refreshing sleep just before the 
train stopped, and never looked more bright and charm- 
ing. When he entered the coach to receive us, his 



THE FIRST SIGHT OF HIS CHILD. 409 

rubber overcoat was dripping from the rain which 
was falling, but his face was all sunshine and glad- 
ness ; and, after greeting his wife, it was a picture, 
indeed, to see his look of perfect delight and admira- 
tion as his eyes fell upon that baby ! She was at the 
lovely, smiling age; and catching his eager look of su- 
preme interest in her, she beamed her brightest and 
sweetest smiles upon him in return, so it seemed to be 
a mutual fascination. He was afraid to take her ia 
his arms, with his wet overcoat ; but as we drove in 
a carriage to Mr. Yerby's, his face reflected all the 
happiness and delight that were in his heart, and he 
expressed much surprise and gratification at her size 
and beauty. Upon our arrival at the house he speed- 
ily divested himself of his overcoat, and, taking his 
baby in his arms, he caressed her with the tenderest 
affection, and held her long and lovingly. During 
the whole of this short visit, when he was with us, he 
rarely had her out of his arms, walking her, and amus- 
ing her in every way that he could think of — some- 
times holding her up before a mirror and saying, ad- 
miringly, " Now, Miss Jackson, look at yourself !" 
Then he would turn to an old lady of the family and 
say : " Isn't she a little gem f He was frequently 
told that she resembled him, but he would say : " No, 
she is too pretty to look like me." When she slept in 
the day, he would often kneel over her cradle, and 
gaze upon her little face with the most rapt admira- 
tion, and he said he felt almost as if she were an angel, 
in her innocence and purity. I have often wished 
that the picture which was presented to me of that 
father kneeling over the cradle of that lovely infant 
could have been put upon canvas. And yet with all 



410 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

his fondness and devotion to the little lady, he had no 
idea of spoiling her, as wdl be seen by his undertaking 
to teach her a lesson in self-control before she was five 
months old ! One day she began to cry to be taken 
from the bed on which she was lying, and as soon as 
her wish was gratified, she ceased to cry. He laid 
her back upon the bed, and the crying was renewed 
with increased violence. Of course, the mother-heart 
wished to stop this by taking her up again, but he ex- 
claimed : "This will never do!" and commanded "all 
hands off" until that little will of her own should 
be conquered. So there she lay, kicking and scream- 
ing, while he stood over her with as much coolness 
and determination as if he were directing a battle; and 
he was true to the name of SUmewaU, even in disci- 
plining a baby ! "When she stopped crying be would 
take her up, and if she began to cry again he would 
lay her down again, and this he kept up until finally 
she was completely conquered, and became perfectly 
quiet in his hands. 

On the 23d of April (the day she was five months 
old) General Jackson had little Julia baptized. He 
brought his chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Lacy, to Mr. Yer- 
by's, in whose parlor the sacred rite was performed, 
in the presence of the family, and a number of the 
staff-officers. The child behaved beautifully, and was 
the ol)ject of great interest to her father's friends and 
soldiers. Ilis aide, Mr. Smith, tells how he came to 
be present. He says : " I recall the visit to Mr. Yer- 
by's to see the baptism of little Julia. For some 
reason, Mr. Lacy did not wish me to go, and said I 
shouldn't go. Provoked at this, I went to the gen- 
eral, who said, ' Certainl}'', Mr. Smith, you can go: 



THE LAST SOLEMN SERVICE. 411 

ask the others to go with you,' and I turned out the 
whole party, making quite a cavalcade to ride to Mr. 
Yerby's. I remember the general's impatience at some 
little delay, and the decided way with which he went 
out and brought in the child in his arms." 

The next Sabbath was a most memorable one to 
me, being the last upon which I was privileged to at- 
tend divine service with my husband on earth, and to 
worship in camp with such a company of soldiers as 
I had never seen together in a religious congregation. 
My husband took me in an ambulance to his head- 
quarters, where the services were held, and on the 
way were seen streams of officers and soldiers, some 
riding, some walking, all wending their way to the 
place of worship. Arrived there, we found Mr. Lacy 
in a tent, in which wc were seated, together with Gen- 
eral Lee and other distinguished officers. I remember 
how reverent and impressive was General Lee's bear- 
ing, and how handsome he looked, with his splendid 
figure and faultless military attire. In front of the 
tent, under the canopy of heaven, were spread out in 
dense masses the soldiers, sitting upon benches or 
standing. The preaching was earnest and edifs'ing, 
the singing one grand volume of song, and the atten- 
tion and good behavior of the assembly remarkable. 
That Sabbath afternoon my husband spent entirely 
with me, and his conversation was more spiritual than 
I had ever observed before. He seemed to be giving 
utterance to those religious meditations in which he 
so much delighted. He never appeared to be in better 
health than at this time, and I never saw him look so 
handsome and noble. We had a large, comfortable 
room at Mr. Yerby's, which was hospitably furnished 



4V2 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

with th>-ee beds. It seems that General Lee had been 
an occupant of this room before us, for when he called 
on me he facetiously^ alluded to our capacious accom- 
modations, and said he had written to his wife and 
daughters that if they would come to see him, he could 
entertain thera all in this room ! This was tiie first 
time I met him, and when the announcement was 
made that " General Lee and his staff \\[n\. called to see 
Mrs. Jackson," I was somewhat awe-struck at the idea 
of meeting the commander-in-chief, with a retinue of 
ofBcers, and descended to the parlor with considerable 
trepidation ; but I was met by a face so kind and fa- 
therly, and a greeting so cordial, that I was at once 
reassured and put at ease. The formidable "staff" 
consisted of only two or three nice-looking, courteous 
gentlemen, and the call was gi'eatly enjo^'ed. 

General Lee was always charming in the society of 
ladies, and often indulged in a playful way of teasing 
them that was quite amusing. lie claimed tiie privi- 
lege of kissing all tlie pretty young girls, which was 
regarded by them as a special honor. A young staff- 
officer relates that on the occasion of a general review 
many ladies turned out in carriages to witness the im- 
posing spectacle. He beard one young lady call out 
to another from her carriage : " General Lee kissed me 
twice .'" The exultant reply came back from another 
carriage : " General Lee kissed me four times .'" 

General Jackson did not permit the presence of his 
family to interfere in any way with his military du- 
ties. The greater ])art ot each day he spent at his 
headquarters, but returned as early as he could get off 
from his labore, and devoted all of his leisure time to 
his visitoi-s — little Julia sharing liis chief attention and 



THE PORTRAIT THAT THE SOLDIERS [,oVE 41;^ 

care. His devotion to his child was remarked upon 
by all who beheld the happy pair together, for she 
soon learned to delight in his caresses as much as he 
loved to play with her. An officer's wife who saw 
him often during this time wrote to a friend in Rich- 
mond that " the general spent all his leisure time in 
playing with the baby." 

One morning he rode over from headquarters upon 
his handsome bay horse, " Superior," wishing to show 
me his fine present ; and after bringing him up to the 
steps of the house and showing him otf, he remounted 
him, and galloped away at such a John (Tilpin speed 
that his cap was soon borne oflf by the velocity ; but 
he did not stop to pick it up, leaving this to his order- 
ly behind him, who found great dirticulty in keeping 
even in sight of him. As far as he could be seen, he 
was flying like the wind — the impersonation of fear- 
lessness and manly vigor. 

It was during these last happy days that he sat for 
the last picture that was taken of him — the three-quar- 
ters view of his face and head — the favorite picture 
with his old soldiers, as it is the most soldierly-look- 
ing; but, to ray mind, not so pleasing as the full-face 
view which was taken in the spring of 18fi2, at Win- 
chester, and which has more of the beaming sunlight 
of his hoiiKi-lool: The last picture was taken by an 
artist who came to Mr. Yerby's and asked permission 
to pliotogi'apii him, which he at first declined ; but as 
he never presented a finer appearance in health and 
dress (wearing the handsome suit given him by Gen- 
eral Stuart), I persuaded him to sit for his picture. 
After arranging his hair myself, which was unusually 
long for him. and curled in large ringlets, he sat in 



^ 



414 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the hall of the house, where a strong wind blew in his 
face, causing hira to fi'own, and giving a sternness to 
his countenance that was not natural ; but in spite of 
this, some tine copies have been produced from the 
original. The very best is Elder's grand portrait — 
])ainted for the late Mr. W. W. Corcoran, of Wash- 
ington. During a visit of my daughter and myself to 
Mr. Corcoran, a few years since, he asiced us to walk 
with him into his salon, saying he had there some- 
thing to show us. Without another word, he led us 
up in front of this portrait, and as the child stood 
transfixed before the splendid representation of the 
father, whose memor}' she so revered, the dear old 
man stepped forward, and, lifting up the pathetic young 
face, tenderly kissed her. This portrait, together with 
a companion picture of General Lee, was given by 
Mr. Corcoran to the Art Gallery in Washington, which 
was founded by him and bears his honored name. 

Our military leaders had diligently employed the 
winter montlis in preparing their troops for the great- 
est efficiency in tiie approaching campaign. When 
the spring opened. General Lee found himself at the 
head of an army unsurpassed in discipline and all the 
hardy virtues of the soldier, strengthened by the addi- 
tions of the winter, reinvigorated by the comjiactness 
and order which had been given to its organization, 
with an enthusiasm acquired by a long series of vic- 
tories, and ready to add to that series a triumph more 
remarkable and illustrious than any of its predeces- 
sor. . . . General Jackson's corps grew in three months 
from twenty-five to thirty-three thousand muskets. 
. . . The splendid morale of this army did not need 
improvement, but it enabled it tu bear, witiiout in- 



HOOKER'S ARMY CROSSING THE RIVER. 415 

juiy, the privations and hardships of the winter. In- 
sufficient clothing and scant}' rations produced no 
effect upon it." 

Their leader manifested less reserve than formerly 
in expressing his opinion of the general principles 
which should govern the Confederate side in the 
continuance of the war. "With great decision and 
emphasis he said : " We must make this campaign an 
exceedingly active one. Onlv thus can a weaker 
country cope with a stronger ; it must make up in 
activity what it lacks in strength. A defensive cam- 
paign can only be made successful by taking the ag- 
gressive at the proper time. Napoleon never wait- 
ed for his adversary to become fully prepared, but 
struck him the first blow." 

But as the campaign drew on apace, my delightful 
visit was destined to come to an end. My husband 
had loved to dwell with devout thankfulness upon 
the happy winter we had spent together in "Winches- 
ter; but this last visit exceeded that in happiness, for 
it had the additional charm and the attraction of the 
loveh^ child that God had given us, and this greatly 
intensified his delight and enjoyment. 

M}'^ visit had lasted only nine days, when earl}^ on 
the morning of the 29th of April we were aroused 
by a messenger at our door saying, " General Early's 
adjutant wishes to see General Jackson." As he 
arose, he said, " That looks as if Hooker were cross- 
ing." He hurried down-stairs, and, soon returning, 
told me that his surmise was correct — Hooker was 
crossing the river, and that he must go immediately 
to the scene of action. From the indications he 
thought a battle was imminent, and under the cir- 



416 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J JACKSON. 

cumstances he was unwilling for us to remain in so 
exposed a situation as Mr. Yerby's. He therefore 
directed me to prepare to start for Richmond at a 
moment's notice, promising to return himself to see 
us off if possible, and if not, he would send my broth- 
er Joseph. After a tender and hasty good-by, he 
hurried off without breakfast. Scarcely had he gone, 
when the roar of cannons began — volley after volley 
following in quick succession — the house shaking and 
windows rattling from the reverberations, throwinii- 
the family into great panic, and causing the wildest 
excitement among all the occupants of the place. Mv 
hasty preparations for leaving were hardly complete<l 
when Mr. Lacy, the chaplain, came with an ambu- 
lance, saying he had been sent by General Jackson to 
convey his family to the railroad station as speedily 
as possible, in order to catch the morning train to 
Richmond. My brother Joseph, seeing Gener-'l Jack- 
son's need of his services, had requested that Mr. 
Lacy should be sent in his stead as my escort. He 
brought a cheerful note from my husband, explaining 
why he could not leave his post, and invoking God's 
care and blessing upon us in our sudden tleparture, 
and especially was he tender and loving in his men- 
tion of the baby. 

A rapid and continuous rattle of musketry showed 
that the battle was now under way, and before we 
left Mr. Yerby's yard we saw several wounded sol- 
diers brought in and placed in the out-houses, which 
the surgeons were arranging as temporary hospitals. 
This was my nearest and only glimpse of the actual 
horrors of the battle-field, and the reader can imagine 
how sad' and harrowing was my drive to the station 



HIS WIFE RETURNS TO RICHMOND. 417 

on that terrible morning I Tlie distance was several 
miles, and as we journeyed along over a newly cut 
road, lilled with stumps and roots, we could hear the 
sounds of battle, and ray heart was heavy with fore- 
bodino- and dread. We were in good time for the 
train, and but few passengers were aboard — only two 
that made any impression upon me, and these were a 
pretty, young C'reole mother and a little boy from 
New Orleans, who, like myself, had been paying a 
visit to a soldier husband and father, and were now flee- 
ing for safety. In a few hours we were in Eichmond, 
among kind friends, for all Southern hearts were 
bound by a strong tie in the common cause for which 
so many brave hearts were battling. 

But we must now return to General Jackson. 
Hastening to his command, his first order was to de- 
spatch one of his aides to inform General Lee of the 
movements of the enemy. The commander-in-chief 
was found sitting in his tent, and replied with his ac- 
customed pleasantry to the message, saying : " Well, 
I heard firing, and 1 was beginning to think it was 
time some of you lazy young fellows were coming to 
tell me what it was all about. Say to General Jack- 
son that he knows just as well what to do with the 
enemy as I do." 

Thus left to his own responsibility, Jackson had 
his corps under arms as speedily as possible, but soon 
ascertained from the cavalry pickets of General Stuart 
that the crossing of the enemy below Fredericksburg, 
which was now engaging his attention, was only a 
feint to cover the movements of still larger forces, 
which were effecting passages higher up the Rappa- 
hannock, and some miles west of Fredericksburg. 
■27 



418 LIFE OF GENERAli THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

These forces inarched down towards Chancelloi'sville, 
fifteen miles west of P'redericksburg-, where General 
Hooker was himself in command, and was massing 
his vast army. 

On the opening of this campaign, when General 
Jackson broke up his quarters, it was observed that 
a wondrous change came over him. From the quiet, 
patient, but arduous laborer over his dail}' tasks, he 
seemed transformed into a thunderbolt of war. So 
instinct with animation, energy, and indomitable will 
did he appear that even his figure assumed more 
erectness, his step a quicker firmness, and his whole 
bearing realized the ideal of a soldier, as one inspired 
by the consciousness of power. His mind was clear 
and his action prompt : nothing did he overlook or 
neglect which could add to the efficiency of his corps. 
Before ordering his tents to be struck, his last act 
was to dismount from his horse and seek the privacy 
of his own tent. His servant Jim, to whom he had 
thrown the reins, raised his hand to the bustling crowd 
around, as a warning gesture, and in a loud whisper 
said : " Hush I . . . The general is praying !" Silence 
immediately fell upon the camp, and was maintained 
until the curtain was withdrawn and the Christian 
warrior came forth from his closet, where he had drunk 
of the inspiration that comes only from above, which 
makes a man "strong in the Lord, and in the power 
of His might." 

Proceeding to the field, General Jackson managed, 
with his usual skill, to escape the notice of the enemy, 
and put his column in motion at three o'clock on the 
morning of the 3uth, in obedience to (roneral Lee's 
order to go to the sup])ort of two divisions which had 



POSITION OF THE FEDERAL ARMY. 419 

already been sent to arrest the advance of the enemy, 
which he accomplished liy threatening their flank, upon 
which they fell back to Chancellorsville, where, accord- 
ing to the report of General Lee, they " had assumed 
a position of great natural strength, surrounded on 
all sides by a dense foi'est. filled with a tangled under- 
growth, in the midst of which breastworks of logs had 
been constructed, with trees felled in front, so as to 
form an almost impenetrable abatis. Their artillery 
swept tlie fe\A' nari'ow roads by which the position 
could be approached from the front, and commanded 
the adjacent woods." 

To attack this stronghold would cost a fruitless 
waste of life, and the Confederates attempted nothing 
that day beyond some skirmishing along the lines. 
That night, the 1st of May, Generals Lee and Jackson 
bivouacked upon a knoll covered with pine-trees, the 
fallen leaves affording them the only means of repose ; 
but little did they think of sleep, and long and earnest 
were their consultations, for the situation of affairs 
was of the gravest and most serious aspect. 

Longstreet, with a part of his corps, was absent ; 
Early had been left at Fredericksburg to conceal Jack- 
son's departure, and to dispute the heights of that 
place with Sedgwick ; and Lee's army, thus diminished, 
was left with only forty-three thousand men to battle 
against Hooker with sixty thousand. The Federal 
cavalry, in large force, had also broken through the 
Confederate lines, and was making a raid southward, 
with the object of cutting off General Lee's commu- 
nications with Eichmond. General Stuart now joined 
them, and reported that, while Hooker's situation was 
seemingly impregnable, with his whole force massed 



420 LIFE OF GENKRAL THOMAS J. JACKSON". 

around Chancellorsville, yet his encampments were 
open upon the west and northwest, antl the greater 
part of his cavalry were absent on the southern raid. 
Long and anxiously did the two Confederate leaders 
consult on that memorable night, and they both agreed 
that Hooker must be attacked at once, or all would 
be lost. Finally they laid themselves down upon the 
pine leaves to take a few hours of much-needed repose. 
Jackson's mind seemed to iiave been upon everything 
more than himself, and he had neglected to provide 
a covering or wrap of any kind. He was urged l)y 
young Pendleton of his staff to accept his overcoat, 
but was unwilling to deprive him of it, and declined. 
The thoughtful young man then detached the large 
cape of the garment and spi'ead it over liis general ; 
but as soon as Pendleton fell asleep, Jackson rose 
and carefully placed the cape over him, preferring to 
endure the cold himself to depriving a friend of his 
comfort. The next morning he awoke with a cold, 
but he did not speak of it. In tlie gray light of dawn 
his chaplain found him sitting on a cracker-box, and 
shivering over a little fire. He invited ifr. Lacy to 
take a seat by him, and asked him to give him all the 
information he could al)out the by-roads of that region 
— the minister being acquainted with tlie country, as 
he once had a charge in that vicinity. He took a pen- 
cil and an outline map out of his pocket, and requested 
Mr. Lacy to mark down all tlie roads for him. He also 
sent his top<jgraphical engineer. Major Jed. Hotchkiss, 
now of Staunton, Virginia, to inspect the country, and 
])rocured the services of a guide from tlie neigh borlioiwl 
to find out some avenue by which he might ])ass swiftly 
and unobserved around the flank of Hooker's armv- 



THE FLANK MOVEMENT. 421 

The needed information was soon obtained. Seat- 
ed upon two cracker-boxes, the debris of an issue 
of Federal rations the day before, the Confederate 
leaders held their consultation. With a map before 
hira, Jackson suggested making a long circuit, sweep- 
ing clear round Hooker's right, and so making the 
attack on his rear. Lee inquired with what force he 
would do this '. Jackson re{)lied, " With my whole 
corps present." Lee then asked what would be left 
to him with which to resist an advance of the enemy 
towards Fredericksburg? "The divisions of Anderson 
and McLaws," said Jackson. For a moment Lee re- 
flected on the audacit}' of this plan in the face of 
Hooker's superior numbers. To divide his ai'my into 
two parts and place the whole Federal force between 
them was extremely hazardous. But it was impos- 
sible to attack their position in front without teri'ible 
loss. The very boldness of the proposed movement, 
if executed with secrecy and despatch, was an earnest 
of success. Jackson was directed to carry out the 
plan. 

Soon after the dawn of day he began the march 
with his corps, who, comprehending intuitively that 
their leader was engaged in one of his masterlv flank 
movements, and catching their inspiration from his 
own eagerness and enthusiasm, pressed rapidly for- 
ward, over the narrow country roads. This move- 
ment was not altogether unperceived by the Federals, 
but they interpreted so early a march southward as 
a retreat towards Richmond. Some slight skirmish- 
ing of artillery and riflemen was attempted, but did 
not last long, and Hooker seemed to be awaiting fur- 
ther developments. By three o'clock in the afternoon 



422 I-IFK OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Jackson had marched fifteen miles, and was six miles 
west of Chancellorsville, occupying precisely the o])- 
posite side of the enemy to that held by General Lee. 
It was here that he addressed his last official note to 
his commander, which was as follows: 

" Near 3 p.m., May 2d, 1863. 
" General. — The enemy has made a stand at Chan- 
cellor's, which is about two miles from Chancellons- 
ville. I hope, so soon as practicable, to attack. 

"I trust that an ever-kind Providence will bless ns 
with success. 

" Respectfully, 

" T. J. Jackson, Lieutenant-General. 
" General Robert E. Lee. 

" P. S. — The leading division is up, and the next 
two appear to be well closed. T. J. J." 

Stuart was covering this flank movement with his 
vigilant cavalry, and from his outposts Jackson 
was able to gain a glimpse of the enemy's ])osition. 
which satisfied him that he had obtained the desired 
vantage-ground from which to attack. 

The country around Chancellorsville is densely 
wooded with scrub oak and pine, which, with tan- 
gled undergrowth, form almost im])enetra])le depths 
from which it is appropriatel}'^ called "The Wilder- 
ness." But in the open fields near the old Wilder- 
ness Tavern, General Jackson found space in which 
to draw up his troops. He formed them in three par- 
allel lines, and selected two ])icked batteries to move 
down the turnpike, wiiich mai'ked the centre of his 
lines — the thick forests into which he was about to 



CHARGIXd THR0U(;H THE FOREST. 428 

plunge affording no possible position for the rest of 
his artiller\'. By six o'clock all was in readiness for 
the advance, and at the word of command the three 
lines charged forward, rushing with all the speed it 
was possible to make through the forests and dense 
brushwood, which almost tore the clothing of the 
soldiers from their bodies, and compelled them to 
creep tiirough many places; but still they pressed 
on, as best they could. The following description of 
what followed is taken from •' The Battle-Fields of 
Virginia :" 

" The forest was full of game, which, startled from 
their hiding-places by the unusual presence of man, 
ran in numbers to and over the Federal lines. Deer 
leaped over the works at Talley's, and dashed into 
the wood behind. The Federal troops had in most 
cases their arms stacked, and were eating supper. 
All danger was thought to be over for the night. 
The startled game gave the first intimation of Jack- 
son's approach. But so little was it suspected or 
believed that the suggestion was treated as a jest. 
Presently the bugles were heard through which 
orders were passed along the Confederate lines. This 
excited still more remark. Ere it had been long 
discussed, however, there came the sound of a few 
straggling shots from the skirmishers, then a mighty 
cheer, and in a moment more Jackson was upon them. 
A terrible volley from his line of battle poured among 
the Union troops ere they could recover from their 
surprise. Those in line returned a scattered fire ; 
others seized their arms and attempted to form. 
Officers tried to steady their men and lead them to 



424 LIFE OF GEXERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON'. 

meet the attack. All was in vain. . . . Like a tor- 
nado the Confederate lines pass over the ground, 
breaking, crushing, crumbling Howard's corps. Artil- 
lery, wagons, ambulances, are driven in frantic panic 
to the I'ear, and double the confusion. The rout is 
utter and hopeless. The mass of pursuers and pur- 
sued roll on until the position of Melzi Chancellor's 
is reached. Here a strong line of works had been 
constructed across the road, which, having a shal- 
low ditch, could be made to face in either direction. 
. . . Some of Schurz's men rally on Buschbeck, 
and for a short time the Confederate advance is ar- 
rested. But Jackson cannot long be held back. Col- 
ston's division has eagerly pressed on, and is already 
commingled with Rodes's. Together they charge 
with a yell ; and in a few moments the works are 
taken. Pell-mell now rush the Eleventh Corps, the 
last sembkmce of organization gone, through the 
forest, towards Chancellorsville. Onward sweep the 
Confederates in liot pursuit. The arms, knapsacks, 
and accoutrements of the fugitives till the woods. 
Artillery carriages are to be seen overturned in the 
narrow roads, or hopelessly jammed in the impene- 
trable jungle. The wounded and dying, with their 
groans, till the forest on every side. The day is rap- 
idly drawing to a close ; night comes to add confu- 
sion to the scene. It had been impossible in the broad 
daylight, owing to the intricacy of the forest, to pre- 
vent a comminirjinir of retjinients and brigades along 
the Confederate lines. The confusion thus produced 
is greatl}' increased by the darkness. In a brush- 
wood so dense tliat it is impossible, under favorable 
circumstances, to see thirty yards in any direction, 



THE TROOPS BECOME COXFUSED. 425 

companies, regiments, brigades, become inextricably 
intermixed. Colston's division, forming the second 
line, has already become merged with Rodes's. Both 
move on in one confused mass. The right of the 
Confederate line soon reaches an abatis which has 
been felled to protect the approach to some woods 
on the opposite heights. The troops, already disor- 
dered, become still more so among the felled timber. 
Behind this abatis some troops and artillery have 
been gathered to make a stand. Rodes finds it im- 
possible to push farther until the lines can be re- 
formed. The right is lirst lialted, and then the whole 
Confederate line. Rodes sends word at once to Jack- 
son, requesting that the third line (A. P. Hill's divi- 
sion) be sent forward to take the advance until the 
first and second can be reformed. 

"While this was being done, there was a lull in the 
storm of battle. Jackson had paused for a time in 
his pursuit ; Hooker was attempting to stop and 
reform his flying legions." 

During this splendid charge Jackson was the im- 
personation of military enthusiasm, dashing on at the 
head of his men, with the words of command, " For- 
ward !" " Press on !" continually ringing from his 
lips. He leaned forward upon his horse, and waved 
his hand, as though by its single strength he were 
trying to impel his men onward.' As cheer after 
cheer rose from tlie Confederate line, announcing 
new successes, his flashing eyes and glowing cheeks 
showed how deeply he was mov^ed, and he was ob- 
served frequently to look upwards and lift his right 
hand to heaven in prayer and thanksgiving. 



426 LIt'K OJ"' GENERAL THOMAS J. .lACKSOX. 

Thus far liis most sanguine hopes had l)een real- 
ized. His flank movement was a l)rilliant success — 
the enemj' had been surprised, and their right flank 
been driven back in confusion. But he knew tliat 
much had yet to be done before tlie victory could be 
complete. The first blow must be followed by others. 
He therefore deeply regretted the disorder in which 
his own lines had fallen. After marching twenty 
miles, and fighting over three miles of difficult ground, 
it was no wonder that the men, feeling assured of 
victory, halted from weariness and broke ranks, as 
though the day's work were done. But though the 
enemy had been driven from an important defence, 
which might be reoccupied at any moment if the Con- 
federates failed to seize it, Jackson saw that every- 
thing depended on immediately reforming his lines. 
He despatched his staff in every direction to order 
the officers to get the men back into ranks and press 
forward. Dashing along the lines himself, almost 
unattended, he kept saying: " Men, get into line! get 
into line! Whose regiment is this^ Colonel, get 
your men instantly into line." Turning to an officer 
who came up to report, he said : " Find General 
Rodes, and tell him to occupy that barricade at once 
with his troops." He then added: " I need your help 
for a time; this disorder must i)e corrected. As you 
go along the rigiit, tell the troops, from me, to get 
into line, and preserve their order." 

After this strenuous effort to restoi-e order to his 
lines, he rode forward to make a reconnoissance him- 
self, and found that Hooker was indeed advancing a 
powerful body of fresh troops in his direction. Being 
pressed in front by General Lee, the Federal com- 



WOUNDED BY HIS OWN" HEX. 407 

mander turned upon the foe in the rear, and endeav- 
ored to recapture the all-important barricade. General 
Jackson, accompanied by a part of his staff and sev- 
eral couriers, advanced on the turnpike in the direc- 
tion of the enemy about a hundred yards, when he 
was fired upon by a volley of musketry from his 
right front. The bullets whistled among the party, 
and struck several horses. This fire was evidently 
from the enemy, and one of his men caught his bridle- 
rein and said to him : " General Jackson, you should 
not expose yourself so much." " There is no danger," 
he replied, " the enemy is routed. Go back and tell 
General Hill to press on." But in order to screen 
himself from the flying bullets, he rode from the road 
to the left and rear. The small trees and brushwood 
being very dense, it was difficult to effect a passage 
on horseback. While riding as rapidly as possible to 
the rear, he came in front of his own line of battle, 
who, having no idea that he, or any one but the enemy, 
was in their front, and mistaking the party for a body 
of Federal cavalry, opened a sharp fire upon them. 
From this volley General Jackson i-eceived his mortal 
wounds. His right hand was pierced by a bullet, his 
left arm was shattered by two balls, one above and 
one below the elbow, breaking the bones and sever- 
ing the main artery. His horse, " Little Sorrel," ter- 
rified by the nearness and suddenness of the fire, 
dashed off in the direction of the enemy, and it was 
with great difficulty that he could control him — his 
bridle hand being helpless, and the tangled brush- 
wood, through which he was borne, almost drag- 
gini; him from his seat. But he seized the reins with 
his right hand, and, arresting the flight of his horse. 



428 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

brought bim back into his own lines, where, almost 
fainting, he was assisted to the ground by Captain 
Wilbourne, his signal officer. By this fire several of 
his escort were killed and wounded, among the former 
was the gallant Captain Boswell, and every horse 
which was not shot down wheeled back in terror, 
bearing his rider towards the advancing enemy. The 
firing was arrested by Lieutenant Morrison, who, 
after his horse was killed under him, ran to the front 
of the firing line, and with much difficulty in making 
himself heard, told them they were firing into their 
own men. As soon as this was effected, lie returned 
to find his general ijing prostrate u])on the ground, 
with Captain Wilbourne and Mr. Winn b}' his side. 
He was wearing at the time an india-rubber over- 
coat over his uniform, as a protection from the damp- 
ness of the night. This Wilbourne was ripping up 
Avith a penknife to get at the wounded arm and 
stanch its bleeding. General A. P. Hill, who was 
near by, was speedily informed of the disaster and 
came at once. Dismounting from his horse, he bent 
down and asked, " General, are you much hurt?" He 
replied, " Yes, general, I think I am ; and all my 
wounds were from my own men. I believe my arm 
is broken; it gives me severe pain." "Are you hurt 
elsewhere, general ?" he was asked. " Yes, in my riglit 
hand." But when asked afterwards if it should be 
bound up, he said : " No, never mind ; it is a trifle." 
And yet two of the bones were broken, and the palm 
was almost pierced through ! Amidst all his suffer- 
ings he uttered no complaint, and answered all ques- 
tions in a perfect! V calm and self-possessed tone. He 
asked for Dr. McGuire, but when told that he was 



CARRIED OFF THE FIELD. 429 

engaged in his duties far in the rear, he said to Cap- 
tain Wilbourne : " Then I wish you to get me a siiil- 
ful surgeon." General Hill stated that a Dr. Barr 
was near at hand, and he was immediately summoned. 
Upon his arrival, General Jackson whispered to Gen- 
eral Hill: "Is he a skilful surgeon f The answer 
was that he stood high in his brigade, and all that 
would be requii'ed of him would be to take precau- 
tionary measures until Dr. McGuire could arrive. To 
this General Jackson answered, " Very good." His 
field-glass and haversack were removed from his per- 
son, and the latter was found to contain only a few 
official papers and two religious tracts. While the 
sufferer was still lying prostrate, with a circle of 
his ministering attendants around him, two Federal 
soldiers, with muskets cocked, walked out from the 
brushwood, and approached within a few feet of the 
group. General Hill, in a perfectly quiet tone and 
manner, turned and said : " Take charge of those men." 
In an instant two orderlies sprang forward and seized 
their guns, which the astonished soldiers yielded with- 
out any resistance. Lieutenant Morrison, hearing 
voices in the direction of the enemy, stepped to the 
edsre of the wood to reconnoitre, and in the moon- 
light saw a section of artillery being unlimbered not 
over a hundred yards distant. Returning with all 
haste, he reported the fact, when General Hill gave 
orders that General Jackson should immediately be 
carried to the rear, and that no one should tell the 
troops that he was wounded. Remounting his 
horse, he returned to his own command, and was 
soon afterwards himself disabled by a wound. Lieu- 
tenants Smith and Morrison, Captain Leigh, of Gen- 



430 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

eral Hill's staff, with a courier, now took General 
Jackson up in their arras, but after bearing him a 
short distance, he told them that he suffered so much 
pain from being carried that he would try to walk, 
and after they assisted him to his feet, he did walk 
as fur as the turnpike. 

Just as they reached the road, the battery which 
hatl been seen to unlimber swept over them a volley 
of canister-shot — the balls hissing through the air, 
and crashing through the trees, but fortunately pass- 
ing over their heads. The whole party then lay down 
on the side of the road, shielding the general, as far 
as possible, by placing him on the lowest ground. 
While lying here, the earth around them was torn 
up by shot, covering them with dust, and a hur'ricane 
of lead and canister dashed against the flinty gravel 
and stones of the road, making it literally glow with 
flashes and streaks of fire. So furious and deadly 
was the tempest, that the escape of any of the party 
seemed miraculous. Once General Jackson attempted 
to rise, but was restrained by his attendants, who 
sought to protect him with their own bodies. Lieu- 
tenant Smith threw his arm over him, holding him 
down and saying : " General, you must be still; it will 
cost you your life if you rise.*' With such fidelity 
did these young soldiers stand over the prostrate form 
of their beloved chief, trying to save his life, though 
it should be b}'^ the sacrifice of their own. 

The enemy soon changed from canister to shell and 
elevated their range, when the young men renewed 
their efforts to get General Jackson to the rear, sup- 
porting him with their strong arms, as he slowly and 
painfully dragged himself along. As the Confederate 



"DON'T TELL THEM WHO IT IS." 431 

troops were hurrying to the front, they met the party, 
and the question came from the lips of almost every 
passer-by, " Whom have j'ou tliere f ' . The general, 
not wishing his troops to recognize him, gave orders 
to leave the road and diverge into the woods. He 
said to his attendants : " Don't tell them who it is, 
but simply say it is a Confederate officer." Despite 
these precautions, he did not escape recognition by 
some of his men, who exclaimed with grief and dis- 
may : " Great God ! it is General Jackson !" General 
Pender, of North Carolina, was one of those who rec- 
ognized him, and after a])proaching and- expressing 
his deep regret at his wounding, said to him : " The 
troops have suffei'ed severely from the enemy's artil- 
lery', and are somewhat disorganized ; I fear we can- 
not maintain our position." Faint and exhausted as 
he was, a gleam of the old battle-fire flashed from his 
eyes, and instantly he replied: "You must hold your 
ground. General Pender ; you must hold your ground, 
sir." This was the last order given by the hero of so 
many battle-fields. 

(xrowing more faint after this, he asked to be per- 
mitted to sit down and rest, but the dangers from the 
enemy's fire and from capture were too imminent, 
and a litter having now been procured from an ambu- 
lance corps, he was placetl upon it, and the bearers 
hurried forward, still keeping out of the road to 
avoid the fire of the enemy. As they struggled 
through the dense thickets, his face was scratched 
and his clothing torn ; but this was nothing in com- 
parison with the agony caused by a fall from the 
litter. One of the bearers was shot in the arm, 
and, letting go his hold, the general fell violently 



432 



LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



to the ground, upon his wounded side, causing such 
pain that for the first time he was heard to utter 
a groan. His attendants quickly raised him up, 
and, finding the blood again flowing, and a look of 
deathly pallor upon his face, feared h^ might be expir- 
ing. Lieutenant Smith cried out, " Oh, general, are 
you seriously hurt V " No, Mr. Smith, don't trouble 
yourself about me," he replied, and presently added 
something about winning the battle first, and attend- 
ing to the wounded afterwards. He was again placed 
upon the litter, and carried a few hundred yards, 
under a continuous fire, when the party was met by 
Dr. McGuire with an ambulance. We will let him 
tell the rest of the harrowing story, until my arrival 
at his bedside. 




MONUMENT WHERE .TACK80N KI.I.I., AT (JIIANCKI.I.URSVII.I.E. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

IN THK VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.— AT REST— 1863. 

On meeting the wounded general, says Dr. Mc- 
Guire : " I knelt down by him and said, ' I hope you 
are not badly hurt, general V He replied very calmly, 
but feebly, ' I am badly injured, doctor ; I fear I am 
dying.' After a pause he continued, ' I am glad you 
have come. I think the wound in my shoulder is still 
bleeding.' His clothes were saturated with blood, and 
hemorrhage was still going on from the wound. Com- 
pression of the artery with the finger arrested it, until, 
lights being procured from the ambulance, the hand- 
kerchief, which had slipped a little, was readjusted. 
His calmness amid the dangers that surrounded hira, 
and at the supposed presence of death, and his uni- 
form politeness did not forsake him even under these 
most trying circumstances. His complete control, too, 
over his mind, enfeebled as it was by loss of blood 
and pain, was wonderful. His suffering at this time 
was intense ; his hands were cold, his skin clammy, 
his face pale, and his lips compressed and bloodless; 
not a groan escaped him — not a sign of suffering, 
except the slight corrugation of his brow, the fixed, 
rigid face, and the thin lips, so tightly compressed 
that the impression of the teeth could be seen 
through them. Except these, he controlled by his 
iron will all evidences of emotion, and, more difficult 
28 



4:14 LIFE OF GENERAL TUOMAS J. JACKSON. 

than this even, he controlled that disposition to rest- 
lessness, which many of us have observed upon the 
field of battle, attending great loss of blood. Some 
whiskey and morphia were administered to him, and, 
placing him in the ambulance, it was started for the 
Corps Field Infirmary, at the Wilderness Tavern. 
Colonel Crutchfield, his chief of artillery, was also in 
the ambulance. He had been wounded ver}' seriously 
in the leg, and was suffering intensely. The general 
expressed very feelingly his sympathy for Crutchfield. 
and once, when the latter groaned aloud, he directed 
the ambulance to stop, and requested me to see if 
something could not be done for his relief. Torches 
had been provided, and every means taken to carry 
them to the hospital as safely and easily as possible. 
I sat in the front part of the ambulance, with my fin- 
ger resting upon the artery above the wound to arrest 
bleeding if it should occur. Wlicn 1 was recognized 
by acquaintances and asked who was wounded, the 
general would tell me to say, ' A Confederate officer.' 
At one time he put his hand upon my head, and, pull- 
ing me down to him, asked if Crutchfield was seriously 
wounded. When answered, ' No, only painfully hurt,' 
he replied, ' I am glad it is no worse.' In a few min- 
utes afterwards Crutchfield did the same thing, and 
when told that the general was very seriously wound- 
ed, he groaned out, ' Oh, my God !' It was for this 
that the general directed the ambulance to be halted, 
and requested that something should be done for 
Crutchfield's relief. 

" After reaching the hospital he was placed in bed, 
covered with blankets, and another drink of whiskey 
and water given him. Two hours and a half elapsed 



HIS LEFT ARM IS AMPUTATED. 435 

before sufficient reaction took place to warrant an 
examination. 

"At two o'clock Sunday morning, Surgeons Black, 
Walls, and Coleman being present, I informed him 
that chloroform would be given him, and his wounds 
examined. 1 told him that amputation would proba- 
bly be required, and asked, if it was found necessary, 
whether it should be done at once. lie replied proiiipt- 
ly, ' Yes, certainly, Dr. McGuire, do for me whatever 
you tiiink best.' Chloroform was then administered, 
and as he began to feel its effects and its relief to 
the pain he was suffering, he exclaimed, ' What an 
infinite blessing!' and continued to repeat the word 
' blessing' until he became insensible. The round ball 
(such as is used in a smooth-bore Spiingfield musket), 
which had lodged under the skin, upon the back of 
the right hand, was first extracted. It had entered 
the palm about the middle of the hand, and fractured 
two bones. The left arm was then amputated about 
two inches below the shoulder, very rapidly, and with 
slight loss of blood, the ordinary circular operation 
having been made. There were two wounds in this 
arm, the first and most serious was about three inches 
below the shoulder-joint, the ball dividing the mam 
artery, and fracturing the bone. The second was sev- 
eral inches in length — a ball having entered the out- 
side of the forearm, an inch below the eli^ow, came 
out upon the opposite side, just above the wrist. 
Thioughont the whole of the operation, and until all 
the dressings were applied, he continued insensible. 
Two or three slight wounds of the skin of his face, 
received from the branches of trees, when his horse 
dashed through the woods, were dressed simply with 



436 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

isinglass plaster. About half-past three o'clock Colo- 
nel (then Major) Pendleton, the assistant adjutant-gen- 
eral, arrived at the hospital and asked to see General 
Jackson. He stated that General Hill had been wound- 
ed, and that the troops were in great disorder. Gen- 
eral Stuart was in command, and had sent him to see 
the general. At first I declined to permit the intei-- 
view, but the colonel urged that the safety of the army 
and the success of the cause depended upon his seeing 
him. When he entered the tent the general said: 
' Well, major, I am glad to see you. I thought you 
were killed.' Pendleton briefly explained the condi- 
tion of afl'airs, gave Stuart's message, and asked what 
should be done ? General Jackson was at once inter- 
ested, and asked, in his quick, rapid way, several ques- 
tions. When they were answered, he remained silent 
for a moment, evidently trying to think ; he contract- 
ed his brow, set Ins mouth, and for some moments was 
evidently trying to concentrate his thoughts. For a 
moment it was believed he had succeeded, for his nos- 
trils dilated, and his eye flashed its old fire, but it was 
only for a moment; his face relaxed again, and pres- 
ently he answered, very feebly and sadly, ' I don't 
know, I can't tell ; say to General Stuart he must do 
what he thinks best.' Soon after this he slept for sev- 
eral hours and seemed to be doing well. The next 
morning he was free from jiain, and expressed himself 
sanguine of recovery. He sent his aide-de-camp, Mor- 
rison, to inform his wife of his injuries, and to bring 
her at once to him. The following note from General 
Lee was read to him that morning by Lieutenant 
Smith : ' I have just received your note, informing me 
that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret 



ASKS FOR REPORTS OF THE BATTLE, 437 

at the occurrence. Could I have directed events, I 
should have chosen, for the good of the country, to 
have been disabled in your stead. I congratulate you 
upon the victory which is due to your skill and ener- 
gy.' He replied, ' General Lee should give the praise 
to God.' About ten o'clock his right side began to 
pain him so much that he asked me to examine it. lie 
said he had injured it in falling from the litter the 
night before, and believed he had struck it against a 
stump or a stone or a sapling. No evidence of injury 
could be discovered by examination ; the skin was not 
broken or bruised, and the lung performed, so far as I 
could tell, its proper function. Some simple appli- 
cation was recommended in the belief that the pain 
would soon disappear. 

"At this time the battle was raging fearfully, and 
the sound of the cannon and musketry could be dis- 
tinctly heard at the hospital. The general's attention 
was attracted to it from the first, and when the noise 
was at its height, and indicated how fiercely the con- 
flict was being carried on, he directed all of his attend- 
ants, except Lieutenant Smith to return to the battle- 
field, and attend to their different duties. By eight 
o'clock, Sunday night, the pain in his side had disap- 
peared, and in all respects he seemed to be doing well. 
He inquired minutely about the battle and the differ- 
ent troops engaged, and his face would light up with 
enthusiasm and interest when told how this brigade 
acted, or that officer displayed conspicuous courage, 
and his head gave the peculiar shake from side to side, 
and he uttered his usual ' Good, good !' with unwonted 
energy when the gallant behavior of the Stonewall 
Brigade was alluded to. He said : ' The men of the 



438 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

brigade will be, some day, proud to say to their chil- 
dren, " I was one of the Stonewall Brigade." ' Pie 
disclaimed any right of his own to the name Stone- 
wall. ' It belongs to the brigade, and not to me, for 
it was their steadfast heroism which earned it at First 
Manassas. Tliey are a noble body of men.' This 
night he slept well, and was free from pain. A mes- 
sage was received from General Lee the next morn- 
ing, directing me to remove the general to Guiney's 
Station as soon as his condition should justify it, as 
there was danger of capture by the Federals, who were 
threatening to cross Ely's Ford. In the meantime, to 
protect the hospital, some troops were sent to this 
point. The general objected to being moved, if, in m}' 
opinion, it would do him any injury. He said he had 
no objection to staying in the tent, and would prefer 
it, if his wife, when she came, could find lodging in a 
neighboring house. ' And if tlie enemy does come,' 
he added, ' I am not afraid of them ; I have always 
been kind to their wounded, and I am sure they will 
be kind to me.' General Lee sent word again, late 
that evening, that he must be moved, if possible, and 
preparations were made to leave the next morning. 
I was directed to accompany and remain with him. 
and my duties with the corps, as medical director, 
were turned over to the surgeon next in rank. Gen- 
eral Jackson had previousl}^ declined to permit me to 
go with him to Guiney's, because complaints had been 
so frequently made of general officers, when wounded, 
carrying off with them the surgeons belonging to their 
commands. AVhen informed of this order of the com- 
manding general, he said, 'General Lee has always 
been verv kind to me. and I thank him.' Very early 



CONVEYED TO GUINEY'S STATION. 439 

Tuesday morning he was ])laced in the ambulance, and 
started for Guiney's Station, and about eight o'clock 
that evening we arrived at the Chandler House, where 
we remained till he died. Captain Hotchkiss, with a 
party of engineers, was sent in front to clear the road 
of weed and stone, etc., and to order the wagons out 
of the track to let the ambulance pass. The rough 
teamsters sometimes refused to move their loaded 
wagons out of the way for an ambulance, until told 
that it contained Jackson, and then, with all possible 
speed, they gave the way, and stood with their hats 
off, and weeping, ^s he went by. At Spottsylvania 
Court- House, and along the whole route, men and 
women rushed to the ambulance, bringing all the poor 
delicacies they had, and with tearful eyes they blessed 
him, and prayed for his recovery. He bore the jour- 
ney well, and was cheerful throughout the day. He 
talked freely about the late battle, and among other 
things said that he had intended to endeavor to cut 
the Federals off from the United States Ford, and, 
taking a position between them and the river, oblige 
them to attack him ; and he added, with a smile, ' My 
men sometimes fail to drive the enemy from their posi- 
tion, but they always fail to drive us away.' He spoke 
of Rodes, and alluded in high terms to his magnificent 
behavior on the field Satui'day evening. Pie hoped he 
would be promoted. He thought promotions for gal- 
lantry should be made at once, upon the field, and they 
would be great incentives to gallantry in others. He 
spoke of Colonel Willis, who commanded the skirmish- 
ers of Eodes's Division, and praised him very highly, 
and referred to the deaths of Paxton and Boswell 
very feelingly. He alluded to tliem as officers of great 



440 LITE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

merit and promise. The day was quite warm, and at 
one time he suffered with slight nausea. At his sug- 
gestion I placed over his stomach a wet towel, and he 
expressed great relief from it. After he arrived at 
the Chandler House, he ate some bread and tea with 
evident relish, and slept well thi'oughout the entire 
night. Wednesday he was thought to be doing re- 
markably well. He ate heartily foi' one in his condi- 
tion, and was uniformly cheerful. 

" I found his wounds to be doing very well to-day. 
Union by the first intention had taken place, to some 
extent in the stump, and the rest of the sui-face of the 
wound was covered with healthy granulations. The 
wound in his hand gave him little pain, and the dis- 
charge was healthy. . . . He expressed great satis- 
faction when told that his wounds were healing, and 
asked if I could tell from their appearance how long 
he would probably be kept from the field. Convers- 
ino- with Lieutenant Smith a few moments afterwards, 
he alluded to his injuries, and said, ' Many would re- 
gard them as a great misfortune, but I regard them 
as one of the blessings of my life.' Smith replied, 
' All things work together for the good of them that 
love God.' ' Yes,' he answered, ' that's it, that's it.' 

" About one o'clock Thursday morning, while I was 
asleep upon a lounge in his room, he directed his ser- 
vant, Jim, to apply a wet towel to his stomach, to 
relieve an attack of nausea, with which he was again 
troubled. The servant asked permission to first con- 
sult me, but the general, knowing that I had slept 
none for nearly three nights, refused to allow me to 
be disturbed, and demanded tlie towel. About day- 
light I was aroused, and found him suffering great 



EXAMINATION OF THE WOUND. 441 

pain. An examination disclosed pleuropneumonia of 
the right side. I believed, and the consulting physi- 
cians concurred in the opinion, that it was attributable 
to the fall from the litter the night he was wounded. 
The general himself referred to this accident. I think 
the disease came on too soon after the application of 
the wet cloths to admit of the supposition, once be- 
lieved, that it was induced by them. The nausea, for 
which the cloths were applied that night, ma^' have 
been the result of inflammation already begun. Con- 
tusion of the lung with extravasation of blood in his 
chest was probably produced by the fall referred to, 
and shock and loss of blood prevented any ill effects 
until reaction had been well established, and then 
inflammation ensued. . . . Towards the evening he 
became better, and hopes were again entertained of 
his recovery. 

"Mrs. Jackson arrived to-day, and nursed him faith- 
fully to the end. ... The general's joy at the presence 
of his wife and child was very great, and for him 
unusually demonstrative." 

After recovering from the effects of chloroform. Gen- 
eral Jackson asked Lieutenant Smith whether he said 
anything when under its power, and he continued : " I 
have always thought it wrong to administer chloroform 
where there is a probability of immediate death. But 
it was, I think, the most delightful physical sensation 
I ever enjoyed. I had enough consciousness to know 
what was doing ; and at one time thought I heard the 
most delightful music that ever greeted my ears. I 
believe it was the sawing of the bone. But I should 
dislike, above all things, to enter eternity in such a con- 



442 II FK O*" fiENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

dition." He afterwards said to other friends, " What 
an inestimable blessing is chloroform to the sufferer!" 

After the operation, when Mr. Lacy was admitted 
to the tent, he exclaimed with deep feeling. " Oh, 
general, what a calamity !" General Jackson, with 
his accustomed politeness, tirst thanked him for his 
sympathy, and then said : " You see me severely 
wounded, but not depressed ; not unhappy. I believe 
it has been done according to God's holy will, and I 
acquiesce entirely in it. You may think it strange ; 
but you never saw me more perfectly contented than 
I am to-day ; for I am sure that my Heavenly Father 
designs this affliction for my good. I am perfectly 
satisfied that, either in this life, or in that which is 
to come, 1 shall discover that what is now regarded 
as a calamity is a blessing. And if it appears a great 
calamity, as it surely will be a great inconvenience, 
to be deprived of my arm, it will result in a great 
blessing. I can wait until God, in His own time, 
shall make known to me the object He has in thus 
afflicting me. But whj' should I not rather rejoice 
in it as a blessing, and not look on it as a calamity 
at all ? If it were in my power to replace my arm, I 
would not dare to do it, unless I could know it was 
the will of my Heavenly Father." 

In the course of this conversation he stated that, 
.when he fell from the litter, he thought he should die 
upon the field, and gave himself up into the hands of 
God, without a fear, and in the possession of perfect 
peace. " It has been," lie said, '' a precious experience 
to me, that I was brought face to face with death, 
and found all was well. I then learned an important 
lesson, that one who has been the subject of convert- 



OPINION OF HOOKER'S PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 448 

ing grace, and is the child ot God, can, in the midst 
of the severest sufferings, fix the thoughts upon God 
and heavenly things, and derive great comfort and 
peace ; but that one who had never made his peace 
with God would be unable to control his mind, under 
such sufferings, so as to understand projjerly the way 
of salvation, and repent and believe on Christ. I felt 
that if I had neglected the salvation of my soul be- 
fore, it would have been too late then." 

"When General Lee was first informed of the vic- 
tory gained by General Jackson's flank movement, 
and almost in the same breath the great catastrophe 
of the fall of his lieutenant was announced to him, he 
exclaimed with deep emotion, " Ah, any victory is 
dearly bought which deprives us of the services of 
Jackson, even for a short time." lie was then told 
that Jackson had said, " The enemy should be pressed 
in the morning." " Those people shall be immedi- 
ately pressed," he replied, and forthwith addi'essed 
himself to the work. 

General Stuart was placed in command of Jack- 
son's corps, and as he led them to battle he gave the 
order, " Charge ! and remember Jackson !" an ap- 
peal which was answered by their courage on the 
second day of the battle of Chancellorsville. 

Jackson was asked what he thought of Hooker^s 
plan of campaign, and his reply was : " It was, in the 
main, a good conception, sir; an excellent plan. But 
he should not have sent away his cavalry' ; that was 
his great blunder. It was that which enabled me to 
turn him without his being aware of it, and to take 
hira by his rear. Had he kept his cavalry with him, 
his plan would have been a very good one." In speak- 



444 I^II^'K OK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

ing of this flank movement, he said : " Our movement 
yesterday was a great success; I tliink the most suc- 
cessful military movement of my life. But I expect 
to receive far more credit for it than 1 deserve. Most 
men will think that I had planned it all from the first; 
but it was not so. I simply took advantage of cir- 
cumstances as they were presented to me in the provi- 
dence of God. I feel that His hand led me — let us 
give Him all the glory." 

On Tuesday he was told that Hooker was in- 
trenched north of Chancellorsville, when he said, 
" That is bad ; very bad." Afterwards, upon awaken- 
ing from a disturbed sleep from the influence of opi- 
ates, he exclaimed, " Major Pendleton, send in and 
see if there is higher ground back of Chancellorsville." 

During the few days succeeding his fall, when he 
and his friends were buoyed up by the hope of his 
recovery, he conversed freely and cheerfully, and ex- 
pressed a desire to be taken, as soon as he was able, 
to his beloved home at Lexington, where, he said, 
the pure, bracing mountain air would soon heal his 
wounds and renew his strength and health. 

He requested Mr. Lacy to come every morning at 
tea o'clock and read the Bible, and have prayers at 
his bedside. During these morning hours he greatly 
enjoyed religious conversation, and expressed his un- 
varying and steadfast love and hope in his Redeemer. 
Although he had avowed his perfect willingness to 
die whenever God called him, he believed that his 
time was not yet come, and that God still had a work 
for him to do in defence of his country. 

" He delighted to enlarge on his favorite topics of 



RELIGION TO BE CARRIED INTO EVERYTHING. 44.') 

practical religion, which were such as these : The 
Christian should carry his religion into everything. 
Christianity makes a man better in any lawful call- 
ing; it makes the general a better commander, and 
the shoemaker a better workman. In the case of a 
cobbler, or the tailor, for instance, religion will pro- 
duce more care in promising work, moi'e punctuality, 
and more fidelitj' in executing it, from conscientious 
motives ; and these homely examples were fair illus- 
trations of its value in more exalted functions. So, 
pra3'er aids any man, in any lawful business, not only 
by bringing down the divine blessing, which is its 
direct and primary object, but by harmonizing his 
own mind and heart. In the commander of an army 
at tlie critical houi', it calms his perplexities, moder- 
ates his anxieties, steadies the scales of judgment, 
and thus preserves liim from exaggerated and rash 
conclusions. Again he urged that every act of man's 
life should be a religious act. He recited with much 
pleasure the ideas of Doddridge, where he pictured 
himself as spiritualizing every act of his daily life ; 
as thinking, when he washed himself, of the cleans- 
ing blood of Calvary ; as praying, while he put on his 
garments, that he might be clothed with the rol)e of 
Christ's righteousness ; as endeavormg, while he was 
eating, to feed upon the Bread of Heaven. So Jack- 
son was wont to say that the Bible furnished men 
with rules for everything. If they would search, he 
said, they would find a precept, an example, or a gen- 
eral principle, applicable to every possible emergency 
of duty, no matter what was a man's calling. There 
the military man might find guidance for every 
exigency. Then, turning to Lieutenant Smith, he 



446 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

asked hiin, smiling: 'Can you tell me where the 
Bible gives generals a model for their official reports 
of battles V Tiie lieutenant answered, laughing, that 
it never entered his mind to think of looking for such 
a thing in the Sci'iptures. 'Nevertheless,' said the 
general, ' there are such ; and excellent models, too. 
Look, for instance, at the narrative of Joshua's bat- 
tle with the Amalekites ; there you have one. It 
has clearness, brevity, fairness, modesty ; and it traces 
the victory to its right source — the blessing of God." 

One day he asked Dr. McGiiire whether lie sup- 
posed tlie diseased persons healed by the miraculous 
touch of the Saviour ever suffered again from the 
same malady. He did not believe the}' did ; that the 
healing virtue of Christ was too potent, and that the 
poor paralytic to whom He had once said, " I will : 
be thou healed," never shook again with palsy. x\nd 
then, as though invoking the same aid, he exclaimed : 
"Oh for infinite power!" After quietly reflecting 
awhile, he inquired of Mr. Smith : '' What were the 
headquarters of Christianity after the crucifixion?" 
He replied that Jerusalem was at first the chief seat; 
but after the dispersion of the disciples thence by 
persecution, there was none for a time, until Antioch, 
Iconium, Rome, and Alexandria, were finally estab- 
lished as centres of influence. The general inter- 
rupted him: "Why do you say 'centres of influence;' 
is not heat/fjuarters a better term?" After some fur- 
ther explanations by Mr. Smith (who was a theo- 
logical student), in which General Jackson was much 
interested, he said : " Mr. Smith, 1 wish you would 
get the map. and show me precisely where Iconium 



HIS WIFE UNABLE TO REACH HIM. 447 

was." He replied that he did not think he could find 
a map, when the general said, " Yes, sir ; you will 
find an atlas in my old trunk." After a fruitless 
search, Mr. Smith suggested that it was probably left 
in his portable desk. He said, " Yes, you are right, I 
left it in my desk " (naming the shelf). Then after con- 
sidering a moment, he added : " Mr. Smith, I wish you 
would examine into that raattei', and report to ine.^' 

After the bright promise of his recovery began to 
diminish, and his physicians were trying every known 
remedy, one of them aroused him from a troubled 
sleep to administer some draught, saying, " Will you 
take this, general ?" He looked up steadily into his 
face, and resolutely said, "Do your duty." He re- 
peated the command, " Do your duty " — his mind 
evidently wandering back to the camps and battle- 
fields, on which he had so often and so faithfully urged 
this injunction. 

In resuming my sad story it will be explained why 
I was not able to reach my liusband for five days 
after he was wounded, but no tongue or pen can 
express the torturing suspense and distress of mind 
which I endured during this period of enforced ab- 
sence from liim. As I iiave before stated, kind friends 
tiiok me to their hospitable homes in Kichmond. 
After spending a few days with Mrs. Letcher in the 
governor's mansion, I was invited by Mrs. Hoge and 
Mrs. William Brown (who lived together) to the resi- 
dence of the Rev. Dr. Moses D. Hoge, who was at 
that time in Europe, on a mission from the Confeder- 
ate States government, to procure Bibles for the sol- 
diers. These two ladies were love)}' and pleasant in 
their lives, which were redolent with Christian graces 



448 I-n'E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

and usefulness, and much of their time was devoted to 
ministering to the soldiers. For five days I heard not 
one word directly from ray husband, but despatches 
from the battle-field were constantly received by the 
government, representing all as going well, and victory 
was confidently expected. 

On Sunday morning. May 3d, as we arose from 
family worship in Dr. Hoge's parlor, Dr. Brown ver}' 
sadly and feelingly informed me that the news had 
come that General Jackson had been wounded — se- 
verely, but it was hoped not dangerously. This pain- 
ful shock can be better imagined than described. 
Although I had never for one moment since the war 
began lost ray solicitude for his safety, still God had 
so often covered his head in the day of battle, had 
brought him through so many dangers, that I felt 
that his precious life would still be spared. With all 
my agonizing distress now, I could not entertain any 
other thought or belief than this. Despatches were 
sent at once inquiring into his condition, and asking 
if I could go to him. He was reported as doing well, 
but the way was not open for rae to come yet. The 
raiding - parties of the enemy were operating all 
through the intervening country — all passenger trains 
were stopped, and to go through the country in pri- 
vate conveyance exposed travellers to capture. So 
great was ray impatience to go that I was willing to 
risk this danger, but the railroad authorities were so 
confident of opening the way from day to day that 
friends urged me to wait until this could be done. 
On Tuesday my brother Jose})h arrived, to my great 
relief, to take me to ni}' husband, but my disappoint- 
ment was only increased by his report that it had 



AT LAST ABLE TO GET THROUGH. 449 

taken hira nearly three days to ride through the coun- 
try and elude the raiding enemy, and this confirmed 
the conviction of my friends that I should await the 
opening of the railroad. From Joseph were learned 
the particulars of the wounds of General Jackson and 
the amputation of his arm, but he was thought to be 
doing as well as possible under the circumstances, and 
was brave and cheerful in spirit. Everything was 
said and done to cheer and encourage me, but oh the 
harrowing agony of that long waiting, day after day ! 
for it was not until Thursday morning that the block- 
ade was broken, and we went up on an armed train 
prepared to fight its way through. During all this 
long period of anxiety and suspense, my unconscious 
little nestling was all sweetness and sunshine, shed- 
ding the only brightness and comfort over my dark- 
ened pathway. 

A few hours of unmolested travel brought us to 
Guiney's Station, and we were taken at once to the 
residence of Mr. Chandler, which was a large country- 
house, and very near it, in the yard, was a small, 
humble abode, in which lay my precious, suflfering 
husband. The Chandlers were extremely kind — the 
good hostess expressing great regret that General 
Jackson was not in her own dwelling, and receiving 
the very best of everything she had to give ; but the 
house was occupied by sick and wounded soldiers, 
some of whom were suffering with erysipelas, and it 
was the surgeons who had selected the out-house for 
the general's own safety. Upon my arrival I was 
met by a member of his staff, who, in answer to my 
anxious inquiry, said the general was doing " pretty 
well ;" but from his tone and manner I knew some- 
29 



450 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J, JACKSOX. 

thing was wrong, and my heart sank hke lead. lie 
said the doctor was then engaged in dressing his 
wounds, and I could not be admitted to his room un- 
til this was over. The time could not have been long, 
but it seemed to me hours, so sorely had I already 
been tried by " hope deferred that niaketh the heart 
sick." While I was walking off my impatience on 
the piazza, my attention \vas attracted by a party of 
soldiers within a stone's-throw of the house, digging 
a grav^e, but soon I was horrified to see them exhum- 
ing a coffin, and placing it above the ground. Upon 
inquir}"^ it proved to be that of (leneral E. F. Paxton, 
of Lexington, who had fallen in the late battle, whose 
body was to be taken to his former home for its final 
interment. M3' husband's own neighbor and friend ! 
and I knew the young wife, and remembered how I 
had seen her weeping bitterly as she watched his de- 
parture from her in those first days of the war, when 
all our hearts were well-nigh bursting with foreboding 
and dread. Now the cruel war had done its worst 
for her, and she was left widowed, and her children 
fatherless ! 

My own heart almost stood still under the weight 
of horror and apprehension which then oppressed 
me. This ghastly spectacle was a most unfitting 
preparation for my entrance into the presence of ray 
stricken husband ; but when I was soon afterwards 
summoned to his chamber, the sight which there 
met my eyes was far more appalling, and sent such 
a thrill of agony and heart-sinking through me as I 
had never known before ! Oh, the fearful change 
since last I had seen liim ! It required the strongest 
effort of which I was capable to maintain my self -con- 



AT HIS BEDSIDE. 451 

trol. When he left me on the morning of the 29th, 
going forth so cheerfully and bravely to the call of 
duty, he was in the full flush of vigorous manhood, 
and during that last, blessed 'visit, I never saw him 
look so handsome, so happy, and so noble. Now, his 
fearful wounds, his mutilated arm, the scratches 
upon his face, and, above all, the desperate pneumo- 
nia, which was flushing his cheeks, oppressing his 
breathing, and benumbing his senses, wrung my soul 
with such grief and anguish as it had never before ex- 
perienced. He had to be aroused to speak to me, and 
expressed much joy and thankfulness at seeing me; 
but he was too much afl^ected by morphia to resist 
stupor, and soon seemed to lose the consciousness of 
my presence, except when 1 spoke or ministered to 
him. From the time I reached him he was too ill to 
notice or talk much, and he lay most of the time in a 
semi-conscious state ; but when aroused, he recognized 
those about him and consciousness would return. 
Soon after I entered his room he was impressed by 
the woful anxiety and sadness betrayed in my face, 
and said : " My darling, you must cheer up, and not 
wear a long face. I love cheerfulness and brightness 
in a sick-room.' And he requested me to speak dis- 
tinctly, as he wished to hear every word I said. 
Whenever he awakened from his stupor, he always 
had some endearing words to say to me, such as, " My 
darling, you are very much loved ;" " You are one of 
the most precious little wives in the world." He told 
me he knew I would be glad to take his place, but 
God knew what was best for us. Thinking it would 
cheer him more than anything else to see the baby in 
whom he had so' delighted, I proposed several times 



452 I'IFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

to bring her to his bedside, but he alwaj'S said, " Not 
yet ; wait till I feel better." He was invariably pa- 
tient, never uttering a murmur or complaint. Some- 
times, in slight delirium, he talked, and his mind was 
then generally upon his military duties — caring for 
his soldiers, and giving such directions as these : 
" Tell Major Hawkes to send forward provisions to 
the men ;" " Order A. P. Hill to prepare for action ;"' 
" Pass the infantry to the front," etc. Our friends 
around us, seeing how critical was his condition, and 
how my whole time was given up to him, determined 
to send to Richmond for Mrs. Hoge to come to ray re- 
lief, and assist in taking care of my bab}'. Hetty had 
been faithful to her little charge, but the presence of 
Mrs. Hoge, who was of a singularly bright, affection- 
ate, and sympathetic nature, and her loving ministra- 
tions in this time of sorest trial, were of inestimable 
value and comfort. 

Friday and Saturday passed in much the same way 
— bringing no favorable change to the dear sufferer; 
indeed, his fever and restlessness increased, and, al- 
though everything was done for his relief and benefit, 
he was growing perceptibly weaker. On Saturday 
evening, in the hope of soothing him, I proposed read- 
ing some selections from the Psalms. At first he re- 
plied that he was suffering too much to listen, but 
very soon he added : " Yes, we must never refuse 
that. Get the Bible and read them." 

As night approached, and he grew more wearied, 
he requested me to sing to him — asking that the songs 
should be. the most spiritual that could be selected. 
My brother Joseph assisted me in singing a few 
hymns, and at my husband's request we concluded 
with the 51st Psalm in verse : 



THE r.KX) DRAWING NEAR. 4:,:^ 

" Sliow pity. Lord ; O Lonl, forgive." 

The singing litid a quieting effect, and he seemed 
to rest in perfect peace. 

Dr. S. B. Morrison, a relative of mine, and Dr. 
David Tucker, of Richmond, had botli been called in 
consultation by Dr. McGuire. As Dr. Morrison was 
examining the patient, he looked up pleasantly at 
him, and said, '' That's an old familiar face." 

On Saturday afternoon he asked to see his chaplain, 
Mr. Lacy, but his respiration being now very difHcuIt, 
it was not thought ])rudent for him to convei-se, and 
an attempt was made to dissuade him. But he was 
so persistent that it was deemed best to gratify him. 
When Mr. Lacy entered he inquired of him if he was 
tr^'ing to further those views of Sabbath observance 
of which he had spoken to him. Upon being assured 
that this was being done, he expressed much gratifica- 
tion, and talked for some time upon that subject — his 
last care and effort for the church of Christ being to 
secure the sanctification of the Lord's day. 

Apprehending the nearness of his end. Mr. Lacy 
wished to remain with him on Sunday, but he insisted 
that he should go, as usual, and preach to the soldiers. 
When Major Pendleton came to his bedside about 
noon, he inquired of him, " Who is preaching at 
headquarters to-day ?" When told that Mr. Lacy 
was, and that the whole army was praying for him, 
he said, " Thank God ; they are very kind." As soon 
as the chaplain appeared at headquarters that morn- 
ing. General Lee anxiously inquired after General 
Jackson's condition, and upon hearing how hopeless 
it was, he exclaimed, with deep feeling: "Surely 
General Jackson must recover. God will not take him 



454 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

from us, now that we need him so much. Surely he 
will be spared to us, in answer to the many praj'ers 
whicli are offered for him." And upon Mr. Lacy's 
leaving, he said : " When you return, I trust you 
will find him better. When a suitable occasion offers, 
give him my love, and tell him that I wrestled in 
prayer for him last night as I never prayed, I believe, 
for myself." Here his voice became choked with emo- 
tion, and he turned away to hide his intense feeling. 

Shortly after the general's fall, and before his situa- 
tion had grown so critical. General Lee sent him, by 
a friend, the following message : " Give him my af- 
fectionate regards, and tell him to make haste and get 
well, and come back to me as soon as he can. He has 
lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm." 

Mr. Lacy was truly a spiritual comforter and help 
to me in those dark and agonizing days. Often when 
I was called out of the sick chamber to ray little nurs- 
ling, before returning we would meet together, and, 
bowing down before the throne of grace, pour out 
our hearts to God to spare that ])recious, useful life, 
if co7isistent with His will ; for without this condi- 
tion, which the Saviour himself enjoins, we dared not 
plead for that life, infinitely dearer, as it was, than 
my own. 

In order to stimulate his fast -failing powers, he 
was offered some brandy and water, but he showed 
great repugnance to it, saying excitedly, " It tastes 
like fire, and cannot do me any good." Early on 
Sunday morning, the 10th of May, I was called out 
of the sick-room by Dr. Morrison, who told me that 
the doctors, having done everything that human skiU 
could devise to stay the hand of death, had lost all 



SINKING INTO UNCONSCIOUSNESS. 455 

hope, and that my precious, brave, noble husband 
could not live ! Indeed, life was fast ebbing away, and 
they felt that they must prepare me for the inevi- 
table event, which was now a question of only a few 
short hours. As soon as I could arise from this stun- 
ning blow, I told Dr. Morrison that my husband must 
be informed of his condition. I well knew that death 
to him was but the opening of the gates of pearl into 
the inneffable glories of heaven ; but I had heard him 
say that, although he was willing and ready to die at 
any moment that God might call him, still he would 
prefer to have a few hours' preparation before entering 
into the presence of his Maker and Redeemer. 

I therefore felt it to be ray duty to gratify his 
desire. He now appeared to be fast sinking into un- 
consciousness, but he heard my voice and understood 
me better than others, and God gave me the strength 
and composure to hold a last sacred interview with 
him, in which I tried to impress upon him his situa- 
tion, and learn his dying wishes. This was all the 
harder, because he had never, from the time that he 
first rallied from his wounds, thought he would die, 
and bad expressed the belief that God still had 
work for him to do, and would raise him up to do 
it. When I told him the doctors thought he would 
soon be in heaven, he did not seem to comprehend 
it, and showed no surprise or concern. But upon 
repeating it, and asking him if he was willing for 
God to do with him according to His own will, he 
looked at me calmly and intelligently, and said, 
" Yes, I prefer it, I prefer itP I then told him that 
before that day was over he would be with the 
blessed Saviour in His glory. With perfect distinct- 



466 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ness and intelligence, he said, "I will be an infinite 
gainer to be translated." I then asked him if it was 
his wish that I should return, with our infant, to 
my father's home in North Carolina. He answered, 
" Yes, you have a kind, good father; but no one is 
so kind and good as your Heavenly Father." He 
said he had many things to say to me, but he was 
then too weak. Preferring to know his own desire 
as to the place of his burial, I asked him the ques- 
tion, but his mind was now growing clouded again, 
and at first he replied, " Charlotte," and afterwards 
"Charlottesville." I then asked him if he did not 
wish to be buried in Lexington, and he answered at 
once, " Yes, Lexington, and in my own plotP He 
had bought this plot himself, when our first child 
died, as a burial place for his family. 

Mrs. Hoge now came in, bearing little Julia in her 
arms, with Hetty following, and although he had al- 
most ceased to notice anything, as soon as they entered 
the door he looked up, his countenance brightened 
with delight, and he never smiled more sweetly as he 
exclaimed, " Little darling ! sweet one !" She was 
seated on the bed by his side, and after watching her 
intently, with radiant smiles, for a few moments, he 
closed his eyes, as if in prayer. Though she was suf- 
fering tlie pangs of extreme hunger, from long absence 
from her mother, she seemed to forget her discomfort 
in the joy of seeing that loving face beam on her once 
more, and she looked at him and smiled as long as he 
continued to notice her. Tears were shed over that 
dying bed by strong men who were unused to weep, 
and it was touching to see the genuine grief of his 
servant, Jim, who nursed liim faithfully to the end. 



"LET US CROSS OVER THE RIVER." 457 

He now sank rapidly into unconsciousness, murmur- 
ing disconnected words occasionally, but all at once 
he spoke out very cheerfully and distinctly the beau- 
tiful sentence which has become immortal as his last : 
" Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade 
of the trees." 

"Was his soul wandering back in dreams to the 
river of his beloved Valley, the Shenandoah (the ' river 
of sparkling waters'), whose verdant meads and groves 
he had redeemed from the invader, and across whose 
floods he had so often won his passage through the 
toils of battle? Or was he reaching forward across 
the Eiver of Death, to the golden streets of the Celes- 
tial City, and the trees whose leaves are for the heal- 
ing of the nations ? It was to these that God was bring- 
ing him, through his last battle and victory ; and un- 
der their shade he walks, witli the blessed company of 
the redeemed." 

General Jackson had expressed the desire, when in 
health, that he might enter into the rest that remains 
for God's people on the Lord's day. His wish was 
now gratified, and his Heavenly Father translated him 
from the toils and trials of earth, soon after the noon 
of as beautiful and perfect a May day as ever shed its 
splendor upon this world, to those realms of everlast- 
ing rest and bliss where 

" Sabbaths have no end, 
And the noontide of glory eternuU}' reigns." 

Never shall I forget Mr. Lacy's ministrations of con- 
solation to my bleeding heart on that holiest of Sab- 
bath afternoons. Seated by my bedside, he talked so 
of Heaven, giving such glowing descriptions of its 



458 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSdN. 

blessedness, and followino; in imagination the ran- 
somed, glorified spirit, through the gates into the city, 
that at hist peace, the " peace of God," came into my 
soul, and I felt that it was selfish to wish to bring 
baclv to this sorrowful earth, for my happiness, one 
who had made such a blissful exchange. But this 
frame of mind did not last, and many were the sub- 
sequent conflicts to attain and keep this spirit. 

The remains were carefully prepared by the loving- 
hands of the staff-officers, the body being embalmed 
and clothed in an ordinary dress, and then wrapped 
in a dark-blue military overcoat. His Confederate 
uniform had been cut almost to pieces by his attend- 
ants, in their endeavor to reach and bind up his wounds, 
on the night of his fall. Late in the evening I went 
into Mr. Chandler's parlor to see all that was left of 
the one who had been to me the truest, tenderest, and 
dearest of all the relations of earth — the husband of 
whom I had been so proud, antl for whom I thought 
no honors or distinctions too great ; but above all this 
I prized and revered his exalted Christian character, 
and knew that God had now given him "a crown of 
righteousness." 

Yet how unspeakable and incalculable was his loss 
to me and that fatherless baby ! Dead ! in the merid- 
ian of his grand life, before he had attained the age 
of forty years ! But " alive in Christ" for evermore ! 

All traces of suffering had disappeared from the 
noble face, and, although somewhat emaciated, the 
expression "was serene and elevated, and he looked far 
more natural than I had dared to hope. 

That night, after a few hours' sleep from sheer ex- 
haustion, I awoke, when aU in my chamber was per- 



THE MOURNFUL RETURN TO RICHMOND. 459 

feet Stillness, and the full moor poured a Hood of light 
through the windows, glorious enough to lift ray soul 
heavenwards ; but oh ! the agony and anguish of those 
silent midnight hours, when the terrible reality of my 
loss and the desolation of widowhood forced itself 
upon me, and took possession of my whole being ! 
My unconscious little one lay sweetly sleeping by my 
side, and my kind friend, Mrs. Hoge, was near; but I 
strove not to awaken them, and all alone I stemmed 
the torrent of grief which seemed insupportable, until 
prayer to Him, who alone can comfort, again brought 
peace and quietness to my heart. 

The next morning I went once more to see the re- 
mains, which were now in the casket, and were cov- 
ered with spring flowers. His dear face was wreathed 
with the lovely lily of the valley — the emblem of hu- 
Tnilitu — his own predominating grace, and it seemed to 
me no flowers could have been so appropriate for iiim. 
Since then, I never see a lily of the valley without its 
recalling the tenderest and most sacred associations. 

On Monday morning began the sad journey to 
Richmond. A special car had been set apart for us, in 
which were Mr. Lacy and the staff-officers, while Mrs. 
Hoge and Mrs. Chandler were my attendants, and 
proved themselves the kindest of friends and comfort- 
ers. Upon reaching the suburbs of the city, the train 
stopped, and we were met by Mrs. Governor Letcher 
and other ladies, with several carriages, and driven 
through the most retired streets to the governor's 
mansion. Kind friends had also in readiness for me 
a mourning outfit. These were indeed most thought- 
ful considerations on their ]mrt, and could not have 
been more gratefully appreciated. 



460 LIFE OF GE\ERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

The funeral cortege then proceeded on its way into 
the city, and was followed for two miles by throngs 
of people. 

•' Business had been suspended, and the whole city 
came forth to meet the dead chieftain. Amidst a sol- 
emn silence, only broken by the boom of the minute- 
guns and the wails of a military dirge, the coffin was 
borne into the governor's gates, and hidden for a time 
from the eyes of the multitude, that were wet with 
tears." 

The casket, enveloped in the Confederate flag, and 
laden with spring flowers, was placed m the centre of 
the reception-room in the E.xecutive Mansion. It was 
here that I looked upon the face of my husband for 
the last time. No change had taken place, but, the 
coffin having been sealed, the beloved face could only 
be seen through the glass plate, which was disappoint- 
ing and unsatisfactory. In honor of the dead, the 
next day a great civic and military procession took 
place. The body was carried through the main streets 
of the city, the pall-bearers being six major and brig- 
adier generals, dressed in full uniform. The hearse, 
draped in mourning, and drawn by four white horses, 
was followed by his horse, led by a groom ; next by 
his staff-officers ; regiments of infantry and artillery ; 
then a vast array of officials — the President, Cabinet, 
and all the general officers in Richmond — after whom 
came a multitude of dignitaries and citizens ; and then 
all returned to the Capitol. 

" Every place of business was closed, and every ave- 
nue thronged with solemn and tearful spectators, while 
a silence more impressive than that of the Sabbath 
brooded over the whole town. When the hearse 



LAID IN STATE IN THE CAPITOL. 461 

reached the steps of the Capitol, the pall-bearers, 
headed by General Longstreet, the great comrade of 
the departed, bore the corpse into the lower house of 
the Congress, where it was placed on a kind of altar, 
draped with snowy white, before the speaker's chair. 
The coffin was still enfolded with the white, blue, and 
red of the Confederate flag. 

" The Congress of the Confederate States had a short 
time before adopted a design for their Hag, and a large 
and elegant model had just been completed, the first 
ever made, which was intended to be unfurled from 
the roof of the Capitol. This flag the President had 
sent, as the gift of the country, to be the winding- 
sheet of General Jackson." 

During the remainder of the day the body lay in 
state, and was visited by fully twenty thousand per- 
sons — the women bringing flowers, until not only the 
bier was covered, but the table on which it rested over- 
flowed with piles of these numerous tributes of affec- 
tion. 

At the hour appointed for closing the doors the 
multitude was still streaming in, and an old wounded 
soldier was seen pressing forward to take his last look 
at the face of his loved commander. He was told that 
he was too late — the casket was then being closed for 
the last time, and the order had been given to clear 
the hall. He still endeavored to advance, when one 
of the marshals threatened to arrest him if he did not 
obey orders. The old soldier hereupon lifted up the 
stump of his mutilated arm, and with tears streaming 
from his eyes, exclaimed: "By this arm which I lost 
for my country, I demand the privilege of seeing 
my general once more." The kind heart of Governor 



462 LIFE OF GENEKAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Letcher was so touched b}' this appeal tliat at his 
intercession the old soldier's petition was granted. 

The tears which were dropped over his bier by strong 
Jiien and gentle women were the most true and hon- 
orable tributes that could be paid him, and even little 
children were held up by tlieir parents that tliey might 
reverently behold his face and stamp his name upon 
their memories. 

While all these public demonstrations were taking 
place in the Capitol, how different was the scene in 
my darkened chamber, near by ! A few loving friends 
came to mingle their tears with mine, among whom 
was my motherly friend, Mrs. William N. Page, and 
my eldest brother. Major W. W. Morrison, arrived 
that day from North Carolina. Both of these dear 
ones accompanied me on the remainder of the sad pil- 
grimage to Lexington. I also received a precious visit 
from the Kev. Dr. T. V. Moore, whom I had never 
met before, but his winning gentleness of face, his 
selections of the most comforting passages of Script- 
ure—such as the 14th chapter of John, beginning, 
"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, 
believe also in me" — and his fervent, toucliing prayer 
could not have been more grateful and soothing — 
proving balm, indeed, to my wounded, crushed heart. 
I never saw him again, but he, too, has long since 
joined that "army of the living God," 

" Part of whose host have crossed the flood, 
And psiit are crossing now." 

Little Julia was an object of great interest to her 
father's friends and admirers, and so numerous were 
the requests to see her that Hetty, finding the child 



FUNERAL JOURNEY TO LEXINGTON. 468 

growing worried at so much notice and handling, 
sought a refuge beyond the reach of the crowd. She 
ensconced herself, with her little charge, close to the 
waU of the house, underneath my window in the back 
3'ard, and there I heard her crooning, and bewailing 
that " people would give her baby no rest." 

On Wednesday morning we again set out on our 
protracted funeral journey, going by the way of 
Uordonsville to Lynchburg, and all along the route 
at every station at which a stop was made, were as- 
sembled crowds of people, and many were the floral 
offermgs handed in for the bier. His cliild was often 
called for, and, on several occasions, was handed in 
and out of the car windows to be kissed 

No stop was made at Lynchburg, but a vast thron.r 
was there to attest their interest and affection, and to 
present flowers. Here we took the canal-boat which 
was to convey us to Lexington, and on Thursday even- 
ing, with our precious burden, we reached the little 
village which had been so dear to him, and where his 
body was now to repose until "the last trump shall 
sound " and "this mortal shall have i)ut on immortal- 
ity." 

At Lexington our pastor. Dr. White, and our 
fiuends and neighbors met us in tears and sorrow 
The remains were taken in charge by the corps of 
cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, and carried 
to the lecture -room where General Jackson, while 
professor, had taught for ten years, and were guarded 
during the night by his former pupils 

On Frichiy, May 15th, the body was again escorted 
by the officers and cadets of the Institute, together 
with the citizens, to the Presbvterian Church in 



464 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

which he had so loved to worship, where the services 
were conducted in the simplest manner by the pas- 
tor and other visiting ministers. Conspicuous among 
these was General Jackson's valued friend, Dr. Ram- 
sey, of Lynchburg, who offered a prayer of wonder- 
ful pathos. The hymn " How blest the righteous 
when he dies !" was sung, after which Dr. White read 
the 15th chapter of I. Corinthians — that sublime 
description of the resurrection of Christ and of the 
believer ; and then delivered an address, which was 
as just and appropriate as it was heartfelt and aflFect- 
ing. The casket, followed by a long procession of 
people, from far and near, was borne to the cemeteiy, 
and. with military honors, was at last committed to 
the grave. 

The spot where he rests is " beautiful for situa- 
tion" — the gentle eminence commanding the loveliest 
views of peaceful, picturesque valleys, beyond which, 
like faithful sentinels, rise the everlasting hills. 

My pastor took me to his own home, and never 
could the loving-kindness and sympathy of true 
hearts be exceeded by that of himself, his family, 
and the good people of Lexington to me, in this hour 
of deepest affliction and bereavement. "When the 
time came for my sad departure from my once happy, 
married home, the noble people of Virginia extended 
to me every kindness. I was provided with two 
escorts to convey me to my father's home in North 
Carolina ; one of General Jackson's staff being de- 
tailed by the military authorities to attend me; and 
the Virginia Military Institute, wishing to do honor 
to the name of its late professor, also sent one of his 
colleagues upon the same mission. I mention these 



WHERE HE SLEEPS AT LAST. 



465 



facts simply in token of gratitude, and realizing that 
these and all the tributes paid to my hero-husband 
are but evidences of the love and veneration in which 
his name and memorj' are enshrined in the hearts of 
his countrymen, and of the good and noble of all 
lands. 










JACKSON S TOMB, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA. 



30 



A CHAPLAIN'S RECOLLECTIONS 

OF 

"STONEWALL" JACKSON. 

By Chaplain J. "\Vm. Jones. 

(Formerly Chaplain of tbe Thirteeuth Virginia RfKiment, Kwell'd Divic^ion, 

Jackson's Corps, A. N. V., now Aeeistant (.'bapIain-General 

United Confederate Veterans.) 

I REMEMBER that soldiers at Harpers Eerrj- when 
he was sent to command us asked, " Who is thi-i 
Colonel Jackson?" but that before he had been in 
command forty-eight hours \ve felt liis strong haiul, 
recognized the difterenee l^etweeii him and certain 
militia officers who had proviousl\- had charge of 
the post, and realized that we were now under the 
command of a real soldier and a rigid disciplinarian. 

I saw him frequently at Harper's Ferry; and a-< 
"high private in the rear rank" of the Thirteenth 
Virginia Regiment it was sometimes my duty to 
pace the sentinel's beat in front of his headquarters. 

But the first time I ever had an opjiortunity of 
seeing him closely and talking with him was at 
Darksville, near Martinsburg, in the lower Shenan- 
doah Valley, on the 4th day of July, 1861, when 
the army under General J. E. Johnston was drawn 
up in line of battle to meet an expected attack from 
General Patterson. 

The skill and tact witli which he had reduced the 
high-spirited rabble, which rushed to Harper's Perry 



Jackson's appearance. 467 

at the first tap of the drum, into tlie respectable 
"Army of the Shenandoaii," wliieh he turned over 
to General J. E. Johnston the last of May, and his 
successful skirmish at Falling "Waters (which we then 
exaggerated into an important victory) had won for 
him some reputation, and I was anxious to see him 
again. I have a vivid recollection of his appear- 
ance that day, and how he impressed me. 

Dressed in a simple Virginia uniform, apparently 
about thirty-five years old, six feet high, medium 
size, gray eyes that seemed to look thrf)Ugh J'ou, 
dark brown hair and a countenance in which deep 
benevolence seemed to mingle with nncompromising 
sternness, he had about him nothing of "the pomp 
and circumstance " of war, but every clement which 
enters into the skilful leader and the indomitable, 
energetic soldier, who was alwavs ready for the 
fight. 

But his appearance a year later is still more 
vividly impressed upon me. 

Just before the battle of Fredericksburg his in- 
timate personal friend, the chivalric knight, " Jeb " 
Stuart, presented him with a beautiful " regula- 
tion" Confederate unifoi-m, and when he appeared 
in it for the first time on that historic 13th day of 
December, 1862, his men did not recognize him at 
first ; but soon the word ran down the line " It is 
' old Jack ' with new clothes on," and they cheered 
him as usual. 

Jackson was a born soldier, and it would be for me 
a pleasant task to sketch fully his military career, 
which has been the marvel of the world, and shall 
be the study of military critics in the years to come. 



468 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

THE RAPIDITY OF HIS MARCHES. 

Jackson was noted for the rapidity of his move- 
ments and the long marches he made. An able 
Northern writer has said of him : " He moved 
infantrj- with the celerity of cavalrj-," and some of 
his marches have scarcely a parallel in history. 

After his march to Cumberland and Romuey in 
the winter of '61-62, when by a sudden change in 
the weather many of his men were frost-bitten and 
some of them perished from the intense cold, he 
had scarcely rested his weary legions when he began 
his famous "Valley campaign " which won for his 
men the sobriquet of " Jackson's foot cavalry," 
and for himself world-wide fame. 

When General Banks, supposing that Jackson 
was in full retreat up the Valley, started a column 
across the mountains to strike Johnston's army 
which was then falling back from Manassas, Jack- 
son suddenl}^ turned, marched thirty miles that 
afternoon and eighteen early the next morning, and 
struck a blow at Kernstown which, while he suf- 
fered the only defeat he ever sustained, recalled the 
column that was moving on Johnston's flank and 
disconcerted McClellan's whole plan of campaign. 
Pursuit was utterly futile until Jackson took a 
strong position in Swift Run Gap, whence he 
emerged to make some of the most rapid marches 
on record, as he defeated Milro}" at McDowell, 
flanked Banks at Front Roj'al, cut his retreating 
column at Middletown, routed him at "Winchester, 
and pushed him pell-mell across the Potomac. 

" John Paul " wrote from Saratoga to the New 



CONFRONTING THE INVADER. 469 

York Ti'ibune some years ago : " I met Genei'al 
Banks here, and it grieved me that the general does 
not remember how we traveled in company once, 
bnt the circumstances were not very favorable for 
photography, perhaps. We were traveling out of 
the Shenandoah Valley, and manoeuvring very suc- 
cessfully to draw Stonewall Jackson along in our 
rear. Not a man of us but swore that the rebel 
general should not get to Massachusetts before we 
did — that the foul invader should not set foot on 
tbe frontier of our native State without finding us 
sternly confronting him in the interior. And it 
was only necessary to gaze once into each soldier's 
face to see that the hated enemy could not capture 
us without stepping over the boundary lines, and 
violating the territory of Maine. I wished several 
times during the recent races that I had the gray 
mare I rode tlirough that campaign here to enter 
for some of the purses. The bursts of speed which 
that faithful steed showed on several occasions 
would pass belief if you did not know just how 
near the detested foe got to us at times. It may 
not be that I won any spurs in the Shenandoah 
Valley, but I had a pair to start in with, and I used 
them well coming out. I am confident that none 
of our people won any spurs down there, though 
we played straight poker for most everything else, 
and I lost my blankets once to a cavalry captain, 
who subsequently had no use for them." 

"Whether Jackson intended to " violate the terri- 
tory of Maine " or not he was about to cross the 
Potomac in pursuit of the fleeing enemy when he 
learned that Shields and Fremont (in- response to 



470 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

that famous dispatch of Mr. Lincohi to General 
McDowell) were hastening to form a junction iu 
his rear at Strasburg. He immediately wheeled, 
marched sixty miles in a day and a half (one of his 
brigades marched fift3--two miles in one day), held 
Shields back with one hand and Fremont with the 
other until all of his troops, prisoners and trains 
had passed the point of danger, and tlieu moved 
quietly up the valle}- pursued by three armies, until 
at Cross Keys and Port Republic he suffered him- 
self to be " caught," and proved beyond all contro- 
versy that he who " caught " Stonewall Jackson, 
had indeed '■^caught a Tartar." 

One of his biographers well puts it: "In thirty- 
two days he had marched nearly four hundred 
miles, skirmishing almost daily'; fought five battles; 
defeated three armies, two of which were com- 
pletely routed ; captured about twenty pieces of 
artillery, some four thousand prisoners, and im- 
mense quantities of stores of all kinds ; and had 
done all this with a loss of less than one thou- 
sand men in killed, wounded and missing." 

The march from the Valley to "seven days around 
Richmond;" that to Pope's rear at Second Man- 
assas; the march to the capture of Harpers Ferry, 
and thence to Sharpsburg (Antietam): the march 
from the Valley to first Fredericksburg, and that 
to Hooker's rear at Chancellorsville were all famous 
for their rapidity. Though always having superior 
forces opposed to him. his quick movements and 
able strategy gave him great advantage at the point 
of attack. 

His men used to say : " Old Jack always moves 



HIS SECRECY. 471 

'at early dawn ' except when he starts the day 
before," and it was a glorious sight to witness the 
cheerful alacrity with Avhieh the " foot cavalry," 
often with bare and blistered feet, responded to every 
call of their iron chief, and marched with him to an 
immortality of fame. The simple command," Press 
forward," or the assurance of staff officers, " Gen- 
eral Jackson has important reasons for an extr.a 
long march to-day," would silence every murmur 
and give seemingly fresh strength to his weary men. 

HIS SECRECY. 

The secrecy with which Jackson formed and exe- 
cuted his plans was a most important element of his 
success. 

After the defeat of Fremont at Cross Keys, and 
Shields at Port Republic, he was largelj' reinforced 
by General Lee, who took pains to have the fact 
made known to the enemy, and Jackson was not 
slow to confirm the impression that with these 
reinforcements he would sweep down the Valley 
again. 

He took into his confidence Colonel T. T. Mun- 
ford, who commanded the advance of his cavalry, 
and he detailed for special duty Mr. William Gilmer, 
of Albemarle County, who was widely known in 
Virginia as a political speaker and in the army as a 
gallant soldier. A number of Federal surgeons, 
who had come, iinder flag of truce, to look after 
Banks' wounded, were quartered in a room adjoin- 
ing Colonel Munford's when Mr. Gilmer ["Billy 
Gilmer" was his popular sobriquet] stalked in, with 
rattling sabre and jingling spurs, and in loud tones 



472 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

auuounced, "Despatches for General Jacksou."' 
"What is the news?" he was asked, loud euough 
to be heard by the surgeons in the next room, who 
pressed their ears to the keyholes and cracks, eager 
to catch every word. "Great news I'' was the 
loud response. "Great news! The whole road 
from here to Staunton is full of graj* people 
coming to reinforce us There are General "Whiting 
and General Lawton and General Hill, and I don't 
know Avlio else, at the head of at least thirty thou- 
sand men. They will all be up by to-morrow after- 
noon, and then won't we clean out this Valley 
and make the Yankees skedaddle again across 
the Potomac! Hurrah for old Stonewall and 
his ' foot cavalry,' as well as his 'crittur companies,' 
Mj I!!" 

It is needless to add that when the surgeons were 
sent back to their own lines, early tlie next morning, 
they hastened to carry " the news " to headquarters. 
A hasty retreat of the Federal army followed, and 
Jackson so skilfully manoeuvred his forces, using 
his cavalry as a curtain across the Valley, and so 
secretly conducted his march to Richmond, that at 
the very time he was thundering on ^loClellan's 
flank at Cold Harbor, Banks was fortifying at 
Strasburg against an expected attack from him. 

I well remember ho\\' profoundly ignorant the 
men and even the higher officers on that march 
were as to our destination. At Charlottesville we 
expected to march into Madison County to meet a 
reported move of Banks across the mountains. At 
Gordonsville the Presbyterian pastor, Eev. Dr. 
Ewing, told me (as a profound secret, "which he had 



MOVING AT DAYLIGHT. 473 

gotten from headquarters") that we would " move at 
daylight the next morning toward Orange Court- 
House and Culpeper to threaten Washington." 

We did " move at dayliglit " (wo generally did), 
but in an altogether diflerent direction, toward 
Louisa Court-House. There and at Frederick's 
Hall and at Hanover Junction we expected to move 
on Fredericksburg to meet ilcDowell, and it was 
only when we heard A. P. Hill's guns at Mechan- 
icsville on the evening of June 26th that we took 
in the full situation, and there rang along our 
moving column for miles shouts of anticipated 
victory, as the " foot cavalry " hurried forward 
" to take their place in the picture near the flashing 
of the guns." 

The evening that Jackson spent at Frederick's 
Hall Mrs. Nat Harris sent him an invitation to 
take breakfast with her the next morning, and he 
courteously thanked her and said : " If I can I will 
be happy to do so." 

But when the good lady sent to summon him to 
breakfast, his famous body servant, Jim, met the 
messenger with a look of astonishment and said : 
" Lor', you surely didn't spec' to find the Ginerul 
here at dis hour, did you? You don't know him 
den. Why he left here at one o'clock dis mornin', 
and I spec' he is whippin' dc Yankees in de Valley 
agin by now." The truth was that he had ridden 
into Richmond — a distance of fifty miles — to have 
an interview with General Lee, and receive his final 
instructions as to the part he was to take in the 
great battle that was impending, and he did it so 
secretly that the army knew nothing of his absence, 



474 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

and Richmond nothing of his presence within her 
walls. 

It was on this ride that a characteristic inci- 
dent occurred. Before day Mr. Matthew Hope, a 
respected citizen living in the lower part of Louisa 
County, was awakened by the clatter of horses' hoofs 
and a call in front of liis house. Asking, " Who is 
there?" he received for answer: "Two Confed- 
erate officers who are on important business and 
want two fresh horses to ride. Have you two good 
horses?" "Yes! I always keep good horses," was 
Mr. Hope's reply, " but I can not lend them to every 
straggler who claims to be a Confederate officer on 
important business. You can not have my horses." 
" But our business is very urgent. AVe must, and 
will, have tliem, and you liad as well saddle them 
at once. We will leave our horses in their places." 
" I do not saddle my own horses," was the indignant 
reply. " I keep negroes for that purpose, and I shall 
certainly not saddle them for you, especially as I have 
no assurance that you will ever bring them back." 

The officers soon got the horses and galloped off 
with them, and Mr. Hope was veiy much aston- 
ished when several days afterward tliey were 
returned in good contlition, "with the thanks and 
compliments of General Jackson," and exclaimed, 
" Wliy did he not tell me that he was Stonewall 
Jackson? If I had known wlio he was I would 
have cheerfully given him all of the horses on the 
place, and have saddled them for him, tool" 

It is related that on this march Jackson met one 
of Hood's Texans straggling from his command, 
when the following conversation occurred: 



HIS OWN COUNSELOR. 476 

"Where are you going, sir? " 

"I don't know." 

" What command do you belong to ? " 

" Don't know, sir." 

" What State are you from ? " 

" I can not tell." 

" What do you know, then, sir ? " 

" Nothing at all at this time, sir," replied the 
Texan; " old Stonewall says that we are to be know- 
nothings until after the next fight, and you shall 
not make me violate his orders." 

Jackson smiled and passed on. / 

Jackson's staft' and his higher officers were fre- 
quently in as profound ignorance of his plans as the 
private soldiers. General Ewell, his second in com- 
mand, remarked to his chief of stafl:' in my hearing 
several days before we started from Port Republic 
on the march to Richmond: " We are being largely 
reinforced, and after resting here for a few days we 
will proceed to beat up Banks' quarters again down 
about Strasburg and Winchester." 

I was present one day in the summer of '62, when 
General Ewell rode up to the house of Dr. .las. L. 
Jones near Gordonsville, Va., and asked: " Doctor, 
will you please tell me where we are going? " " No, 
general," was the reply, "but I should like to ask 
you that question if it were proper." " It is a per- 
fectly proper question to ask," replied the grim old 
soldier, "but I should like to see 3'ou get an answer. 
I pledge you my word that I do not know whether 
we are to march north, south, east or west, or 
whether we are to march at all. General Jackson 
ordered me to have my division ready to march &t 



476 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

early dawu ; they Lave beeu lying in the turnpike 
there ever since, and I have had no further orders. 
And that is about as much as I ever know of Gen- 
eral Jackson's movements." 

If I had space I might illustrate this point at 
great length but it must suffice now to say that 
Jackson kept his plans so secret from his own people 
that the enemy could not detect them, and that in 
some of his most brilliantly successful movements, 
such as his march against Fremont and then against 
Banks, his march to " seven days around Richmond," 
to Pope's rear at Secoiul Manassas and to Hooker's 
flank and rear at Chancellorsville, tlie element of 
secrecy entered largely into his success. 

PERSONAL ATTENTION TO DETAILS. 

He was unceasingly active in giving his personal 
attention to the minutest details. He had an inter- 
view with his quartermaster, his commissary, his 
ordnance and his medical officer every day, and he 
was at all times thoroughly familiar with the con- 
dition of these departments. It is a remarkable 
fact that, despite his rapid marches, he rarely ever 
destroyed any public property or left so much as a 
wagon wheel to the enemy. 

Not content with simply learning what his maps 
could teach him of the country' and its topography, 
he was accustomed to have frequent interviews with 
citizens and reconnoitre personally the country 
tlirough which he expected to move, as well as the 
ground on which he expected to fight. Being called 
to his quarters one day to give him information con- 
cerning a region with which I had been familiar 



SUDDEN FAME. 477 

from my boyhood, I soon found that he knew more 
about the topography of the section than I did, and 
I was constrained to say : "Excuse me, general, I 
have known this region all my life and thought that 
I knew all about it, but it is evident that you are 
more familiar with it than I am, and that I can give 
you no information about it." Often at night, when 
the army was wrapped in sleep, he would ride alone 
to inspect the roads by which, on the morrow, he 
expected to move to strike the enemy in flank or 
rear. 

The world's history has probably no other instance 
of a soldier who won so much fame in so brief a 
period, and what might have been if God had spared 
him it is useless now to speculate. 

I once heard General Lee say, with far more feel-^ 
ing than he was accustomed to exhibit: "If I had 
had Jackson at Gett^'sburg, I should have won thatN 
battle, and a complete victory there would have 
resulted in the establishment of the independence of ^ 
the South." No close, impartial student of that, 
great battle can fail to indorse this opinion of the' 
Confederate chief or to recognize that the absence,/ 
of Jackson was the most potent factor in the loss or 
that great battle and golden oppoi'tunity by ^he 
Confederates. 

I have it from an authentic source that if Jackson 
had not been killed at Chancellorsville, he would 
have been sent to command the Army of Tennessee. 
How it would have resulted I may not now discuss, 
but it is safe to say that if " Stonewall " Jackson 
had been in command of those heroic veterans there 
would have been less retreating and more fighting. At 



478 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

all events, as his old veterans in their intercourse 
with each other "shoulder their crutches and tell 
how battles were fought and won," they heartily 
indorse the sentiment of brave old "Father Hubert," 
of Hays's Louisiana brigade, who, in his prayer at 
the unvaillng of the Jackson monument in New 
Orleans, said as his climax : " And Thou knowest, 
O Lord, that when Thou didst decide that the Con- 
federacy should not succeed, Thou hadst first to 
remove Thy servant, Stonewall Jackson." 

HIS CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

The Christian character of Stonewall Jackson is 
as historic as his great military' achievements, and 
has been fully brought out in many publications, and 
especially in the simple and beautiful delineation of 
his private character which his devoted wife has 
given in this volume. 

But I deem it eminently fitting that in closing 
"A Chaplain's Recollections," 1 should give at 
least a few salient points of tliat religions life which 
shone out so conspicuously in the daily walk of the 
stern soldier, exerted so potent an influence upon 
all who came in contact with him, and which still 
lives on to bless the world. 

During the six years I resided in Lexington I 
found that the negroes held in highest esteem the 
memory of Jackson, and always spoke with grate- 
ful affection of his work among them. It is a verv 
pleasing incident that the first contribution towards 
the erection of the beautiful bronze statue, which 
now decks the hero's grave, Avas from the negro 
Baptist Church of Lexington, whose pastor and 



RELIGIOUS FERVOR. 479 

some of whose proiiiiiieut members belonged ouce 
to Jackson's negro Sunday-school. 

A MAN OF PRAYER. 

Jackson was equally scrupulous in attending to 
all of his religious duties. " Lord, what wilt Thou 
have me to do?" seemed the motto of his life. 
Regular in meeting all of his religious obligations, 
he walked straight along the path of duty, doing 
with his might whatever his hands found to do. In 
the army his piety, despite all obstacles, seemed to 
brighten as the pure gold is refined by the furnace. 
He beautifully illustrated in his life the lesson of the 
great Apostle : "l^ot slothful in business, fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord." He was a man of prayer. 

He had in the army his regular " family worship," 
and frequent prayer-meetings at his headquarters, 
and allowed no stress of circumstances to deprive 
him of the privilege of secret prayer. 

HIS ACTIVITY FOR THE SALVATION OF OTHERS. 

From the beginning of the war Jackson mani- 
fested the deepest interest in, and made active eflbrts 
to promote, the religious welfare of his men. The 
first interview I had with him, mentioned in the 
first part of this paper, was to secure a permit for a 
colporteur, good brother C. F. Fry, of Staunton, to 
enter his lines. He replied to my application : 
" Certainly, sir, it will give me great pleasure to 
grant all such permits, and when the colporteur 
comes I should be glad to see him. Perhaps I can 
help him in his important woi'k." 

Afterwards, introducing my friend, Jackson gave 



480 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

him a most gracious recejjtiou, sajiug : " You are 
more than welcome to my camp, and I shall be 
delighted to do what I can to promote your work. 
I am more anxious than I can tell that my men 
shall be good, soldiers of the cross as well as good 
soldiers of their country." 

In further conversation he gave the colporteur 
some very valuable hints about his work, made him 
a very liberal contribution to buy Bibles, tracts and 
boobs, and gave him the names of a number of 
Christian officers who might be relied on to help 
him. 

Our Chaplains' Association, which exerted so happy 
an influence in our army work, was organized 
largely through Jackson's influence, and he always 
took the deepest interest in its meetings. One day 
I had started from our camp near Hamilton's cross- 
ing to walk down to old Round Oak Church to 
attend a meeting, when, hearing the clatter of 
horse's hoofs behind me, I turned and recognized 
and saluted General Jackson riding alone as he fre- 
quently did. I expected, of course, that he would 
ride on, but, asking me if I was on my way to the 
Chaplains' Association, he dismounted, threw his 
reins over his arm and walked with me about three 
miles to the point where our paths diverged. I 
shall never forget that walk of the humble chaplain 
witli the great soldier, and could give full details of 
our talk. The burden of it was the religious needs 
of the army and how best to supply them, how to 
fill the vacant regiments with chaplains, how to 
make the chaplains more efiicient, how to secure mis- 
sionaries and colporteurs, and how to induce some 




K . Z 



COURTESY TO PREACHERS. 481 

of the ablest preachers of the dift'ereut deuominatious 
to come to the army for short jieriods if they could 
not come as permanent chaplains. 

He mentioned by uamo a number of leading 
preachers and asked me to write to them, saying : 
"Tell them for me that they must come, and that 
they will never find a grander field of usefulness 
than right here among these noble men, these 
patriot heroes of our Southland." 

And then he began to talk on his favorite theme, 
growth in grace, the obstacles to it in the army and 
how to overcome them, and I confess that I had, for 
the time, to lay aside my oflice of " teacher in 
Israel," and be content to sit at the feet of the stern 
warrior, and learn of him lessons in the divine life. 

Upon another occasion when Rev. B. T. Lacy 
(chaplain at Jackson's headquarters and missionary 
chaplain to the corps), Rev. W. C. Power, of South 
Carolina, and myself were in Mr. Lacy's tent at 
Avork, as a committee of the Chaplains' Association, 
on an address to the churches of the South, General 
Jackson came to the tent door, and, declining our 
earnest invitation to come in, said that he would ex- 
pect us to dine with him that day. The average Con- 
federate soldier always accepted an invitation to din- 
ner, and this invitation to dine with Stonewall 
Jackson was promptly and eagerly accepted. 

I do not remember much about the dinner — could 
not give the bill of fare, though I remember that it 
was very simple and would have been sneered at by 
any Federal oflicer and many of our Confederate 
oflicers of lower rank — but the table talk, and the 
hour or two after dinner when we persuaded the 
31 



482 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

general to go into the tent and hear our statement 
of the religious condition of the army and appeal 
to the churches for more preachers in the camps, 
are so indelibly impressed upon my memory that I 
could quote verbatim much of the simple, earnest, 
evangelical talk of the great leader liut devout 
Christian. 

I went upon several occasions to preaching at 
Jackson's headcpiarters, and the scene is vividly 
engraved on ni}- memor}' and heart. 

That devout listener, dressed in simple gray, orna- 
mented only with tliree stars, which any Confederate 
colonel was entitled to wear, is our great commander, 
Robert Edward Lee. That dashing-looking cavalry- 
man, with "fighting jacket," plumed hat, jingling 
spurs and gay decorations, but solemn, devout aspect 
during the services, is "Jeb" Stuart, "the flower 
of cavaliers "—and all through the vast crowd the 
"wreaths" and "stars" of raidc mingle with the 
"bars" of subordinate officers and the rough garb 
of the private soldier. But perhaps the most 
supremely happy man of the gathered thousands is 
General Jackson as he plays usher in seating the 
men, or drinks in with kindling eye the simple 
truths of the old Gospel he loved so Avell. 

Several days before the battle of Chancellorsville 
I called at headquarters to see Mr. Lacy, and met 
General Jackson on his way to the prayer-meeting. 
He told me that Mr. Lacy was absent, and courte- 
ously invited me to lead the meeting. I promptly 
declined to act as leader, for I knew that he was 
accustomed to lead in Mr. Lacy's absence, and it 
was, I trust, something more than idle cui'iosity that 



GLORIOUS DEATH. 483 

made me desire to attend a prayer-meeting led by 
Stonewall Jackson. I shall never forget that meet- 
ing — the reading of the Scriptures, the sweet songs 
of praise, the simple, earnest, practical talk, and the 
tender, appropriate, fervent prayer of the great sol- 
dier will linger in my memory through life, and will 
be recalled, I doubt not, when I meet him on the 
brighter shore. 

HIS GLORIOUS DEATH. 

Stonewall Jackson died as he lived — an humble, 
trusting Christian. Nay ! he did not die. The 
weary, worn marcher simply " crossed over the 
river and rested under the shade of the trees." The 
battle-scarred warrior fought his last battle, won his 
last victory, and went to wear his bright " crown of 
rejoicing," his fadeless laurels of honor, and to 
receive from earth and from Heaven the plaudit : 

" Servant of God, well done ! 
Rest from Thy loved employ; 
The battle fought, the victory won ; 
Enter thy Master's joy." 

Veterans of the old corps. Confederate soldiers 
generally, admirers of true greatness everj'where, 
owe Mrs. Jackson a lasting debt of gratitude for 
giving them in this volume so vivid a picture of the 
inner life of her noble husband, showing so truly 
that 

" The bravest are the tenderest, 
The loving are the daring." 

God grant that, as our Confederate veterans and 



484 



LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



their children read this touching record of our 
glorious and glorified leader, they may hear his 
voice calling in trumpet tones, above the din of 
this busy, noisy age in which we live, and saying in 
tender tones that shall reach every heart : " Be ye 

FOLLOWERS OF ME, EVEN AS I ALSO AM OF ChRIST ! ! " 




Miller's School, Ckozet, Va., October 15, 1895. 



REMINISCENCES 

OF 

GEN. T. J. ("STONEWALL") JACKSON. 

By Rev. James R. Graham, D. D., of Winchester, Va. 

, . . No mau has lived in this generation, if in 
any that has preceded it, whose personality has 
awakened such profound and widespread interest, 
or into the minutest incidents of whose history 
such careful and persistent search has been made, 
as Stonewall Jackson. "Without derogating in the 
least from what is due to the other great actors in 
the recent conflict between the States, it is but 
simple truth to say that, in some important aspects, 
he was, facile ■prineeps, the most conspicuous figure 
it produced. No other man approached him in the 
enthusiasm which his career excited, or in the 
admiration which his achievements called forth. 
In our own country. South and North alike, and in 
all countries which the fame of the great struggle 
reached, he was the hero around whom the romance 
of the war principally gathered and in whom the 
interest of the great masses centred. Nor did 
that interest die with the ending of the struggle. 
Twenty years after his death, as I can testify from 
personal knowledge, both in Great Britain and on 
the continent, when our war was the subject of con- 
versation with the people whom I met, his name 



486 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

was the first to be spoken and his career the one 
■with which they were the most familiar. The noble 
character, and splendid genius, and matchless gen- 
eralship of his great commander, who surrendered 
at Appomattox, without the suspicion of a stain 
upon his escutcheon, were duly recognized and 
praised, but somehow the unique character and 
brilliant achievements of Jackson had taken the 
most prominent hold upon the imagination and the 
memory of perliaps all with whom I conversed . . . 
In speaking of him I must explain that I am dis- 
tinctly limited to the presentation of such facts as 
transpired during the short and not very eventful 
period when the general, with his wife, was an 
inmate of my house in Winchester, and virtually a 
member of my family. . . . The fact is, I never 
knew there was such a man in existence till about 
the time hostilities commenced. One evening, late 
in April, I dropped into Mr. Logan's store and 
found him unusually excited, which he explained 
by saying that lie had just had a call from Rev. Dr. 
George Junkin, late president of Washington Col- 
lege, Lexington, Va. The old doctor had been 
the able and distinguished president of that college 
for about a dozen j'ears, and was the father of 
General Jackson's first wife. In the stormy dis- 
cussion which preceded the war, he, with most of 
the prominent men of Lexington, including Gen- 
eral Jackson himself, warmly espoused the cause of 
the Union ; and when the rupture came, while 
almost, if not all, of the otliers cast in their fortunes 
with the Confederacy, he adhered to his position as 
a loyal citizen, resigned Ids presidency, and returned 



BAPTISM OF FIRE. 487 

to the North, driving down the Valley in his car- 
riage. While resting his horses here he called on 
Mr. Logan, and in answer to inquiries as to ichy 
and where he was traveling, he said with character- 
istic vehemence, " I am escaping from a set of 
lunatics. Lexington is one vast mad-house. There 
is not a sane man there, nor woman either. They 
are bedlamites, ever}- one. I am compelled to leave ' 
the best friends a man ever had. I leave most of my 
children, too, and my st)n-in-law. Major Jackson, 
Avho is the best and bravest man I ever knew, but 
he is as crazy as the rest. Yet if there is to be a 
war, as I fear, I tell you now, that Major Jackson, ' 
if his life be spared, will be among its most distin- 
guished heroes." This prediction from one who 
knew him so well, yet dift'ered from him so widely,' 
made a deep impression upon me, though I had not! 
heard even the major's name before. 

We soon heard of Colonel Jackson at Harper's 
Ferry; and afterwards as a prominent oflicer i."'der 
General Johnston with the troops near Winchester, 
and a little later at Manassas Avhere the old historic 
First Brigade received its " baptism of fire,"" and its 
distinctive name — a name that will go down in 
history inseparably linked with that of its great 
commander, and will be honored wherever homage 
is paid to intrepid courage, or chivalrous devotion 
to duty is admired. Early in N'ovember he re- 
turned to Winchester as " General Commanding 
the Valley District." 

• The next Sabbath I saw" him in company with his 
adjutant. Colonel J. T. L. Preston, at my church; and 
from that time, when near enough, he was a regular 



488 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

attondaut upon our services. I soon maclo his 
acquaintance, though raj' personal knowledge of him 
was slight till he oanie to live with us. This came 
about as follows : Mrs. Jackson joined him iu "Win- 
chester just before Christmas, 1861, and ai)artment3 
were provided for her at headquarters. On the 
morning of January 1st, 1862, after the troops had 
started on the Bath campaign, he came to our house 
and asked, as a great favor, to receive Mrs. Jackson 
and take care of her for a few days while he would 
be absent from town — urging the facts that she was 
a stranger here, the daughter of a minister, and the 
special kindness it would be to her and to him. A 
request placed on such grounds and urged so per- 
suasively was not to be denied. AVitliin an hour he 
had brought her to us, taken his leave, and with his 
stafi'was following his army to Bath. On his return 
from this memorable expedition he declared that it 
would be cruel to turn Mrs. Jackson out of her 
home, and if Mrs. Graham would allow her to 
remain he would staj' and help to take care of her. 
And so he was installed as a meml)cr of our house- 
hold. ... It is an old proverl) that "you must 
live with a man to know him thoroughly." I lived 
with him. For about two months he slept every 
night under my roof and sat every day at my table, 
and bowed witli us every morning and evening at 
our family altar. lie called my house liis hovie. lie 
was with us in all the unreserved intimacy which 
characterizes the family relation, and under circum- 
stances which could not fail to bring into clear light 
his real character as a man and a Christian. And 
it is due to him to declare that in my intercourse with 



DIGNIFIED AND KEFINED. 489 

him during all that period I can not recall a single 
act or word that I could have wished were differ- 
ent, or which the most censorious could construe to 
his disadvantage. His conversation and his bearing 
were invariably those of a dignified and refined gen- 
tleman, thoroughly familiar with all the require- 
ments of social life; and, wliile carefully observing 
amenities and courtesies which true politeness 
exacts, he largely contributed, by his uniform cheer- 
fulness and thoughtful consideration, to the comfort 
and happiness of all about him. During the time 
he was with us nothing occurred to disturb, but 
everything to increase, even to the last, his cordial 
relations with everj- member of the household — 
parents, children and servants. 

While there was never anything of levity or 
frivolity in his spirit or demeanor, neither was there 
of moroseness or austerity. As might be expected 
of one who realized, as he did,'the nature and mag- 
nitude of that struggle in which all his energies 
were embarked, his prevailing disposition was grave 
and serious. And sometimes, it is fair to say, the 
natural gravity of his temperament was tinged with 
something of that sternness of expression which 
deep convictions will always impart. And this 
sternness may sometimes have been mistaken, by 
those who knew him only in his official character, 
for severity of personal disposition. But in the 
domestic circle no such mistake could be made.' 
Those nearest to him could not fail to see under- 
neath his grave earnestness die brighter and more 
attractive elements of his nature, which even his 
habitual gravitv could not alwavs restrain from 



49U LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

breaking forth — sometimes, which the world would 
hardly suspect, in a keen sense of humor; but 
ofteuer in expressions of warm affection and a 
strong sensibility to the value of friendship and the 
charms of home. 

As an inmate of our family no man could have 
been more considerate or more congenial. Always 
solicitous to avoid giving trouble, his constant aim 
Avas to accommodate himself, so far as official duties 
would allow, to existing domestic arrangements. It 
was not without some misgivings that we acceded 
to his proposal to come to us. Such reports were 
rife of his ])eculiariti€S as to make it a step of ques- 
tionable expediency. After he had been with us a 
few days, and remembering these reports, I won- 
dered that I had failed to observe anything peculiar, 
and I began to watch more closely for the oddities 
that were alleged to him. But, somehow, my jiowers 
of discernment were never sufficient to detect what 
was so patent to others. I never did discover the 
remarkable peculiarities of which so much has been 
said and written. The fact is, they did not exist to 
any observable extent. Whatever peculiarities he 
had were just those individual characteristics which 
we all in a greater or less degree possess. . . . 
He was just a simple gentleman, such as we meet in 
large numbers every day upon our streets, and 
whom we salute without once thinking whether 
there is anything peculiar about them or not. 

I have seen him often in social gatherings, and 
always Avithout any appearance of embarrassment 
beyond what any modest and unobtrusive man 
might aometimes exhibit in the company of those to 



STRICTLY METHODICAL. -491 

whom he was more or less a stranger. Instead of 
that reticence or bluntness with which he is charged, 
he had a pleasant word for every acquaintance, 
spoken in a tone of voice that was very gentle and 
with an expression of countenance peculiarly win- 
ning. He met at my table and fireside a great 
many people of different conditions and rank and of 
both sexes, and to all of them he was uniformly 
cordial, even exerting himself for their entertain- 
ment, if circumstances seemed to require it. Some- 
times a young friend from the army, who had called 
and was detained for a meal, would be visibly abashed 
at the presence of his general, which the general 
was quick to perceive, and by a kind inquiry or 
pleasant word addressed to him would soon set the 
young man at his ease. He was invariablj' courteous 
and affable to all, and to ladies especially he was 
scrupulously polite. 

Among the personal traits that distinguished the 
general, it will surprise no one to learn that he was 
strictly methodical in his manner of life, that he was 
regular in all his habits and punctual in all his 
engagements. When in my house, he invariably 
rose at a certain hour, which was an early one, and 
went at once to headquarters where he received his 
mail and issued the general orders for the day. A 
few minutes before eight o'clock he returned, and 
always escorted his wife to breakfast and indeed to 
every meal. She knew just when to expect him, 
for the clock was not more regular in its movements 
than he was, and she would wait in her room till he 
arrived. And in not a ningle instance, I believe, 
was the meal delayed so much as one minute by his 



492 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

failure to appear ou time — save in a few cases wheu 
he had given notice that he might be detained. 

It was to me a fact of no little interest that 
apparently he brought with him to the table none 
of the cares or concerns of his office, and, so far as 
I ever knew, he brought none of them to the liouse. 
The conversation, which he often started but never 
absorbed, took a wide range and was habitually 
cheerful. "When in the mood for it, he was a good 
talker, sensible and to the point. Generalh* he 
preferred to hear the opinions of others rather than 
to express his own. He was a good listener. It 
soon came to be understood, however, that the 
affairs of his army and indeed all military matters, 
so far at least as they pertained to the movements 
of his troops and the plans and progress of cam- 
piaigns, were prohibited topics. 

Facts accomplished and news of the enemy he 
would freely tell and discuss, but nothing that bore 
even remotely upon the condition and movements 
of his own or other Confederate troops ever passed 
his lips. At first this was not fully understood; 
and as he received his mail very early, and of course 
was in possession of the news when he appeared at 
breakfast, he was often greeted with the c^uestion, 
" Well, general, what news this morning?" Know- 
ing that it was army news mainly that was desired, 
his answers would be evasive and unsatisfactory. 
One morning a lady, who was present, undertook to 
secure more direct and positive information, when 
turning to her with a quizzical look and a smile in 
which humor and seriousness were strangely 
blended, and iu tones which precluded the possibilitv 




His book-case and books, his armchair, with 
Mexican blanket over it and military 
sash as di'apery. 



■ ■■•es of his furniture, his clock, Bible, hymn book, field 
glass, gold spurs, notebook, camp pillow, epaulets, 
gloves, cap, sword and pistols^. 



The scarfs were prest-nted by Confederate ladies during the war, the 

one on the chair embroidered by a lady over seventy, and 

representing the pioducta uf the Confederacy. 



SOME RELICS OF (iKNKlIAl. .lACKSnN IN MHS. JACKSON'S IKiMK. 



SIMPLY INVINCIBLE. 493 

of oftence being taken, he said : " Mrs. , I'll 

have to say to you as the school boys sometimes say, 
" Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies." 
From that hour a thorough understanding was 
established as to what topics were to be avoided. 

It was a fixed rule with him that no official busi- 
ness should, under any circumstances, be transacted 
at my house. If a courier came with a despatch or 
an orderly with a message, as was sometimes done, 
he was directed to go with it at once to head- 
quarters, where he would receive it. If an 
officer or any one came on military business, though 
it might have been transacted in one minute at the 
door, he invariably, if urgency was pleaded, went 
with him to his office. When I remonstrated once 
against this as unnecessary and told him my study 
was at his service, he promptly answered : " !No, sir, 
this is a private house, and my men must learn that 
no official intrusion can be allowed." 

When he had leisure to do so, which was not 
often, he would remain a little while for an after- 
dinner talk. On such occasions his views of men 
and things were freely expressed, and many of them 
were both entertaining and striking. Of the Fed- 
eral leaders, many of whom he knew personally, he 
had much to say, and what he said was, for the 
most part, conceived in a friendly spirit. He placed 
a high estimate i;pon the capacity of McClellan as 
an organizer and strategist, and once he said of 
him : " If he can handle his troops in the field with 
the same ability with which he organizes them in 
the camp, he will be simply invincible." Major 
Doubleday, " the hero of Fort Sumter," as he was 



494 LIFE OF GENERAL TUOMAS J. JACKSON. 

called, was with Jaeksou at West Point, lie was 
pleased when he heard of his promotion as brigadier, 
and said : " Doubleday always was a good fellow, 
though among the cadets he went by the name of 
' forty-eight hours.' " 

His views of the true method of couducting the 
war were characteristic. " War," he said, " means 
fighting. The business of a soldier is to fight. 
Armies are not called to dig trenches, to throw up 
breastworks and lie in camps, but to find the enemy 
and strike him, to invade his country and do him 
all possible damage in the shortest possible time. 
But this would involve great destruction both of 
life and property. Yes, while it lasted ; but such a 
war would of necessity beof brief continuance, and so 
would be an economy of life and property in the end. 
To move swiftly, strike vigorously and secure all the 
fruits of victory, was the secret of successful war." 

I sometimes tried to sound him as to the con- 
duct of aiTairs after the First Manassas. lie never 
would utter an adverse criticism of anj' one of our 
generals. But notwithstanding my failure to draw 
from him an opinion in the case, the conviction 
which even that failure left upon me was that if 
Jackson had been in command there the Stonewall 
brigade would have bivouacked in the grounds of 
the capitol before many suns had risen. 

His firmness of principle is well known, but only 
those nearest to him knew how closely his firmness 
was allied to tenderness. A stern sense of duty 
obliged him sometimes to do things that others con- 
sidered harsh and even cruel, but there were few 
who knew what intense pain such duty cost him. 



TENDERED HIS RESIGNATION. 495 

Another characteristic for which the general was 
eminently distinguished was liis marvelous self-con- 
trol. Whether this was natural to him or the result 
of careful discipline, does not matter. He possessed 
it in a degree I have never seen equaled in any 
other man. Almost every man who knew him at 
all can give some instance of his perfect mastery of 
himself under circumstances of greatest trial. Let 
me relate an instance that came largely under my 
own observation. The incident that gave occasion 
for it has passed into histoiy and is known to all 
the world. I refer to the tender of his resignation 
because of officious interference with his work. 

At the close of his Bath campaign, January, 1862, 
he left General Loring with his troops at Eomney. 
"With this arrangement Loring and many of his 
officers were greatly dissatisfied, and, obtaining fur- 
loughs, went to Richmond and besieged the Depart- 
ment of War with their complaints. Soon an order 
from that department came to recall General Loring. 
In issuing tliis order General Johnston, the com- 
mander-in-chief, was not consulted, and for its exe- 
cution no discretion was allowed to Jackson. On 
the morning of the 31st, going earl}' to his office 
as usual, he found this order, which he immediately 
obeyed, and instantly wrote his request to be ordered 
for duty to Lexington, and if that were not granted, 
then his resignation from the army be accepted. 
This done, he returned to my house perhaps an hour 
earlier than iisual, but appeared at breakfast at the 
appointed time, with his accustomed serenity of 
manner. In a little while he informed us, in a 
perfectly calm tone, that he and Mrs. Jackson 



496 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

expected soon to return to their liome in Lexington. 
Almost immediately he mentioned, as an ordinary 
thing, the fact that Loring's command had heen 
recalled and would soon be in Winchester. 

To my hesitating inquiry if this was made neces- 
sary by the advance of a superior Federal force he 
replied, " Oh, no; there are no Federal troops in my 
district." I was puzzled. But soon the whole case 
was fully stated and freely discussed. And while 
my indignation fairly boiled when the true nature 
and eftect of the affront to him were apprehended, his 
own spii-it did not appear to be ruffled in the least. 
His tones were just as even, his words as calm, his 
language as free from asperity, and his whole 
manner as thoroughly composed as I had ever 
known them. AVhile perfectly sensible of the 
unprofessional and unrailitar}' character of that 
order, and keenly alive to the outrage and insult 
implied in it to himself personally, he would allow 
no censure to be visited upon those who had issued 
the order. My own hasty and not very compliment- 
ary' utterances he checked, saying: "The depart- 
ment has indeed made a serious mistake, but, no 
doubt, they made it through inadvertence and with 
the best intentions. They have to consider the 
interests of the whole Confederacy, and no man 
should be allowed to stand in the way of its safety. 
If they have not confidence in my ability to admin- 
ister wisely the affairs of this district, it is their 
privilege and duty to try and repair the damage they 
believe I am doing." And this meek, unselfish 
spirit prevailed with him to the last. 

There is no day in all my acquaintance with him 



EFFECT OF RESIGNATION. 497 

the incidents of which, in all their details, are so 
distinctly impressed apon my memory as that last 
day in January-, 1862. He seemed to have unbur- 
dened himself of the cares of office, and spent nearly 
the whole day at my house, and no small part of 
it in my company. Laying aside his accustomed 
reticence, he spoke freely of almost everything con- 
nected with the war, the country and the church. 
Events of interest in his own life were related, and 
scenes he had witnessed and places he had visited 
during his tour in Europe were described. While 
the household was in sore distress, and the troops in 
a state of exasperation, and the whole town in a 
ferment, he was himself perfectly self-collected and 
serene. Not only did he seem to be the calmest 
man in town and the freest from excitement, but, 
so far as I knew, he was the only calm and unex- 
cited man among us. There was no severity of 
temper, no acrimony of language, no suspicion of 
anger. The tender of his resignation was not made 
in the heat of passionate resentment to satisfy a 
personal pique for an aft'ront received, but in the 
loftiest spirit of self-sacrifice and as his most em- 
phatic protest against a system of interference with 
the responsibilities of commanders in the held. And 
as I recall, after a third of a century almost, the 
spirit and bearing of Jackson on that memoral)le 
day, I am more and more inclined to say that the 
real grandeur of the man never appeared to greater 
advantage than it did in that most trying ordeal. 

Not at Manassas, where he and his brigade, stand- 
ing like a stone icall, withstood the onset of the 
triumphant foe, and wrested victory from defeat; 
32 



498 LIFE OP GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

not ill the famous "Valley campaign," than wliioii 
there was nothing more brilliant in the Italian cam- 
paigns of the first Napoleon; not in the seven days 
before Richmond ; not at Cedar Mountain ; not at 
the Second Manassas; not at Harper's Ferry, nor 
Sharpsburg, nor Fredericksburg; not even at Chan- 
cellorsville, where all his previous achievements 
were eclipsed by the brilliancy of his strategy and 
the force of his blow; not on anj- of those hard- 
fought fields, where he delivered battle like a thun- 
derbolt, and achieved such splendid victories over 
his enemies, does lie appear to me so truly great as 
in tliat quiet home, where, under provocations the 
most bitter, he maintained this wonderful mastery 
over himself, for "he that is slow to anger is 
better than the mighty, and he tliat niletli his spirit 
than he tliat taketh a city." 

The general was not lacking in a sense of humor, as 
I have said, though with some this statement might 
excite surprise. His haliitual gravity, it has been 
thought, excluded from his mental constitution 
everything like merriment. But the fact is, he 
enjoyed a jest as much as most of us, and would 
now and then indulge in one himself. I have seen 
him enter with surprising relish into the innocent 
pleasantries of the young. 

It is a delicate theme even to touch, yet no account 
of the private life of this extraordinar}- man would 
be complete that did not at least hint that one fif 
his most conspicuous traits at home was his fond and 
absorbing devotion to his wife. Those who knew 
him only as a soldier, and amid the stern realities of 
the camp and the march and the battle-field, will 



AN INCIDENT. 499 

hardly be prepared to believe that in the sacred 
precincts of home and in the privacy- of domestic 
life this sturdy warrior and hard fighter exhibited 
all the softness and tenderness almost of a woman. 
His chivalrous deference to Mrs. Jackson, liis unfail- 
ing gentleness towards her, his delicate attentions, in 
which there was nothing of connubial xJotage, were 
something beautiful to see. It is true, she was a 
woman eminently worthy of all that wealth of 
affection which he lavished upon lier — possessing 
all the qualities that could attract the love of this 
noble man and lead him to enshrine her in his heart 
of hearts. 

Perhaps no man was ever fonder of the delights of 
home than he. When he resigned his commission, 
and wliile he was arranging to resume his tranquil 
life at Lexington, it was surprising to me, and yet 
beautiful to witness, the intense pleasure with which 
he anticipated his speedy return to his quiet 
home. . . . 

On the day our troops evacuated Winchester, 
March 11th, '62, an incident occurred which deserves 
to be mentioned, as perhaps the only instance in 
which the general ever revealed to an outsider any 
of his military plans. The enemy, in overwhelm- 
ing force, were approaching, and arrangements were 
evidently making for the falling back of our troops. 
The army stores were all removed, and the troops 
themselves were under arms on the Martinsburg 
Pike. 

At dinner we thought it doubtful if we would 
see the general again ; but he came to supper and, 
to our surprise, all aglow with pleasant excitement, 



500 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

because of the splendid behavior of his troops and 
their eagerness to meet the enemy who had been 
seen, but, without offering battle, had gone into 
camp at the Washington Spring. Some ladies had 
come in and were in the depth of gloom, because, as 
they understood, the army was to leave us tliat 
night. To this view the general gave no assent, 
but, as if to dispel it, showed an unusual cheerful- 
ness. After our evening worship, which he con- 
ducted in his usual impressive and delightful way, 
he still sat with us, manifesting no hurry to leave, 
and by the tone of his conversation trying to direct 
the minds of all from the gloom they were in. When 
he did go, in answer to some tears which he prob- 
ably saw, he said to us, who tliought we were bid- 
ding him "good-bye," " Oh. I'll see you again," and 
then, suddenly, as if not meaning to say so much, he 
added : " I don't e.xpect to leave." Returning, how- 
ever, within an hour, and finding us out, he des- 
patched a servant after us with a message that he 
wanted to see me at once at his office. Hurrying 
there, I found him walking the floor under more 
excitement than I had ever seen him exhibit before. 
He had undergone in the brief space of time a sur- 
jirising change. His countenance betrayed deep 
dejection, and his spirit was burdened with an inex- 
pressible weight of sadness. At first he did not 
seem to know what to say, but collecting himself 
at length, he said he did not mean to deceive us by 
giving the impression that he would not abandon 
the town. He had intended to lead out his troops 
that night, and hurl them on the camp of the enemy, 
and drive such as were not captured and might 



IN THE SADDLE AGAIN. 501 

survive back across the Potomac. He had just laid 
this plan before his officers, who exhibited so much 
opposition to it, or at least so much reluctance to 
concur in it, as to forbid him to hope for its success- 
ful execution. Yet he was bitterly distressed and 
mortified at the necessity of leaving the people 
whom he loved so dearly. Again he paced the 
room for a minute or two, in painful indecision; 
then, suddenly, pausing before me, with his hand 
grasping the hilt of his sword, as if he would crush 
it, and his face fairly blazing with the fire that was 
burning in his soul, he said: "I ma}' execute my 
purpose still ; I have ordered my officers to return 
at half past nine." His appearance, as he stood 
there and uttered those words, I can never forget. 
I was completely awed before him. But the hope- 
lessness of securing the concurrence of his officers 
again possessed him, and, with an air of grief, he 
proposed to return with me and take leave of mj^ 
family. Before reaching my home he had recovered 
his composure, though not his cheerfulness ; and 
expressing the hope that a good Providence would 
permit him soon to return and bring deliverance to 
the town, he bade us a touching farewell. 

One other point remains to be noticed, and that is 
the strong religious element in Jackson's character. 
To the glory of a soldier, always invincible in battle, 
he added the higher moral glory of a servant of 
the Lord, who never swerved from the line of duty. 
While eminent for many things he was pre-eminent 
for his trust in God. It was no ordinary faith that 
produced such a man. It penetrated his entire 
being and had him in thorough possession. And 



502 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

yet it is probable that in respect to nothing else has 
he been so utterly misunderstood and misrepre- 
sented. The impression given of him hy many is 
that he was a religious fanatic. He has been likened 
to an "ancient crusader, who had an absolute assur- 
ance that he was simply an agent of Divine Will, 
commissioned to execute the divine decrees, and 
that a human being could no more stand in his way 
than in the path of one of his own cannon balls." 
Others have found in him a likeness to the fanatical 
enthusiasm of one of Cromwells Roundheads, burst- 
ing out in a kind of holy frenzy, and exclaiming: 
"Oh, how good it is to pray and fight ! "' But the 
fact is that many of those who have written or 
spoken about this man not only have had scant 
opportunity to judge of his religious character, but 
were wholly incapable of judging it correctly, had 
their opportunities been ever so good. " The 
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
of God, for they are foolishness to him ; neither can 
he know them, for they are spiritually discerned."' 
As well might a blind man presume to judge of 
coloi's, or a deaf man discourse t>f the harmony of 
sound, as for a mere worldly man to pronounce upon 
the things of God. Accordingly, many of the 
descriptions that are given of Jackson's religion 
are simply unconscious confessions on the part of 
the writers of their utter ignorance of that about 
■ which they presume to write. And I here solemnly 
protest that every attempt to associate fanaticism 
in any degree with the religious life of Stonewall 
Jackson is a foul caricature of that earnest, simple 
Scripture faith in God which dominated his whole 



SOLDIER AND SAINT. 503 

being and made him the great luaii lie was. If I 
know auytliing at all, I know the eharaeter of 
Jackson's religion through and through, and I 
know it to have been free from any and every ele- 
ment that could have made it that oft'ensive and 
absurd thing which some have represented it to be. 
lie was simply an humble, earnest, devout, conse- 
crated Christian man. Whatever was remarkable 
about his religion was due to its absolute possession 
of him — its thorough jiower over him. He was a 
man of God first, last and always. He feared God 
and tried to serve Ilim. He loved his Saviour and 
tried to glorify Him. He believed the Scriptures to 
be the "Word of God, inspired, and therefore infal- 
lible. And yet, earnest Christian that he was, no 
man ever knew him to thrust his religion oft'ensively 
upon another. He was incapable of doing it. Much 
as he desired the salvation of all men, he was never 
guilty of the folly of " giving that which is holy 
unto dogs," or of " casting his pearls before swine." 
It is true that when the occasion required it the 
soldier was almost, if not altogether, as conspicuous 
in liim as the saint. Indeed, there was a strange 
union in liim of soldier and saint. It may have 
been meant for a jest, but it was no slander, when it 
was said of him, in the current language of the 
camp, that " he was always praying when he was 
not fighting." He was praj-ing when he was fight- 
ing. Those who rode or walked beside him on the 
march have told me that they often saw his lips 
moving as if in silent prayer. Before he went into 
battle he might be found upon his knees, in an 
agony of supplication. And when the battle was 



504 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

won, be always recognized it as not by his own skill 
or valor, but l)y the favor of that Almighty Ruler 
of whom he had asked the victory, and to whom he 
bowed asrain in luindjlc thankssjivins: for the victorv 
that had been granted. 

Of the character of his secret intercourse with 
God, of course, I know nothing; ))ut whether at the 
family altar, or in the social or public assembly, no 
man ever evinced more of the spirit of prayer, and 
not many have had such (jiffs in prayer. 

And here again I must protest against that mis- 
repi'csentation of Jackson's praying which has 
gained currency, I apprehend, through that famous 
ballad, " Stonewall Jackson's Way," which claims 
to show how he accjuired the power over his troops 
which made his little brigade greater and stronger 
than a host. It represents that on the march, per- 
haps, or at some unexpected moment, the order 
would suddenly rins; out to the whole armv: 



' Silence I Ground arms I Kneel all ! Caps off! 

Old Blue Light's going to pray ; 
Strangle the fool tliat dares to scoff: 

Attention ! It's his way — 
Appealing from his native sod. 
In forma pauperis, to God ; 
' Lay bare Thine arm ! stretch forth Thy rod ! 

Amen ! ' That's Stonewall's wav." 



Well, that u'asn7 "Stonewall Jackson's way"' at 
all. There never was anything that savored in the 
slightest degree of irreverence, or flourish, or parade, 
or impropriety, in any act of devotion performed or 
ordered by him. On the contrary, there was always 



HIS WAT. 505 

a decent regard for the proprieties of worship and a 
solemnitj- iu keeping with the veneration due to 
God. 

Here is an incident that more correctlj- illustrates 
his "way." The loth of November, 1861, was 
appointed as a day of fasting, humiliation and 
prayer throughout the Confederac}-. Recognizing 
the eminent propriety of the appointment, I held 
service in m}' church. . . . During the singing of 
the first hymn I had observed an olficer quietly 
enter and take a seat which a soldier gave him 
near the door. It was the general commanding 
this district. AYhen the hymn following the first 
praj'er was concluded, I rose and, with some mis- 
givings as to its expediencj', asked, " Will General 
Jackson lead us in prayer?" The request was an 
evident surprise both to him and to the congrega- 
tion. But after a somewhat embarrassing pause of 
a moment or two he arose, and, with the manner of 
one who was on familiar ground and engaged in a 
familiar exercise, he led us at once into the presence 
of God and to the throne of grace. Beginning with 
words of adoring reverence, which immediately 
impressed and subdued ever}' heart, he asked to be 
heard for the sake of our divine Redeemer; and 
then, as if pouring out his soul before God, in the 
most simple manner, yet with deep fervor, he made 
confession of our utter unworthiness as sinners and 
of our absolute dependence on divine mercy. In 
words borrowed from Scripture, and uttered in most 
earnest tones, he besought God to bless our afflicted 
country and give success to our arms. In the whole 
course of his prayer he did not forget for one 



506 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

moment that he was one of a company of sinners 
deserving nothing of God, yet pleading with Him, 
for Christ's salce, to be merciful to us and bless us. 
Not a single word did he utter inconsistent with the 
command to love our enemies. Not once did he ven- 
ture to tell God what He ought to do in that great 
crisis of our country. But while he did importu- 
nately ask that our arms might be crowned with 
victory and our country obtain its independence, he 
was careful to a.sk it in humble deference to divine 
wisdom, and only if it would be for God's glory and 
our good. 

I have reason to remember that prayer. Not only 
was its impression left upon the remainder of the 
meeting — which from that time to its close was one 
of the most solemn and spiritual I ever attended — 
but its influence was marked in the community. It 
seemed to teach men how to pray in tho.'je troublous 
times. If General Jackson, who had "jeopardized 
his life in the high places of the field," and Avhose 
loyalty was beyond suspicion, could pray for the 
success of the army and the independence of the 
Confederacy, without airing his patriotism or abus- 
ing the foe, others miffht be calm in their utterances, 
too. Men learned that even in time of war it was 
not necessary to berate the enemy while pleading 
Avith God for his defeat. And it was this manner of 
praying, including, of course, all that was involved 
in it, that was the real secret of Jackson's greatness. 
His heroism and success were derived from God. 
The deepest conviction of his heart, as well as the 
invariable confession of his lips, was that he owed 
all that he had ever done or attained to God alone. 



GOD OF BATTLES. 507 

Pie was distinguished from other renowned warriors 
in many things, but most in this, that he attributed 
all the glory of his victories to the God of battles, 
who is also the God of grace. Unlike other great 
generals, who trusted in the strength of their sword 
and, in the pride of conscious genius, boasted 
that destiny was their own, he trusted in " the liv- 
ing God" alone. He "taught his hands to war and 
his fingers to fight." And this strong confidence 
was at last the secret of his extraordinary skill in 
counsel and his invincible powers in war. 






^4 



^Sl4\ guiA,^^ 



SOME PERSONAL REMINISCENCES 

OF 

LT.-GEN. THOS. J. (STONEWALL) JACKSON. 

By AIajor-General Wm. B. Taliaferro. 

(Commanded Brig:ade under General Jackson.) 

My acquaintance with General Jackson com- 
menced shortly after the Mexican War, when, as one 
of the members of the Visitorial Eoard of the Vir- 
ginia Military' Institute, I found him the newly 
appointed professor of natural philosophy and 
instructor of artillery in that institution. The im- 
pression he produced upon me at that time was 
that he was a man of peculiarities, quite distinctly 
marked from other people — reserved, yet polite; 
reticent of opinions, but fixed in the ideas he had 
formed ; essentially averse to obtruding them upon 
others, but determined and unflinching in their 
advocacy, when pressed to any expression of them. 

The striking characteristic then, as it remained 
(only intensified) in after life, was his strict sense of 
duty. 

He had been a lieutenant of artillery in Mexico, 
in the famous battery of " El Capitan Colorado," 
John Bankhead Magruder, who gained that sobri- 
quet from the flashy uniform which he wore, which 
rivaled that of Murat in the gold lace and red 
stripes with which it was decorated. 



ARTILLERY HIS FAVORITE. 509 

Jackson was by no means, however, the counter- 
part of his commander, for more antithetical char- 
acters I never knew. 

The artillery arm of his profession Avas always 
Jackson's favorite. 

I never knew him to ignore or decline the use of 
artillery but twice, in mj- service with him. The 
battle of McDowell (Sitlington's Hill in the Federal 
reports) was fought without artillery on the Con- 
federate side. It was rough ground, almost as rough 
as Cerro Gordo; but still guns might have been 
dragged up the heights. He was urged to send 
them, but declined — why, nobody knows. He rarel^^ 
gave reasons ; he gave orders, that was all — short, 
sharp, quick, decisive. The tone and manner 
stopped inquiry. 

When we laid along the Rappahannock, from 
Fredericksburg to Port Royal, after the battle with 
Burnside's army, the pickets in front of our lines, 
which were well drawn back from the river, were 
necessarily heavy. Riding with ni}- chief of artillery 
to his head(piarters, I suggested the propriety of 
reinforcing the regiments on picket in my front 
with a few guns. He curtly replied, " ]^o, I had 
rather rely upon the infantry," to the surprise of 
the officers of artillery, who, although saved a dis- 
agreeable duty, were mortified at the im])lied atfront 
to their arm of the service. Nothing of the sort, 
however, was intended; he believed in their efficacy 
and efficiency, but he was satisfied that Burnside 
had no intention to renew the attack. 

I reported to Jackson as colonel, with a brigade 
of troops from Georgia, Arkansas and Virginia, in 



610 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

December, 1861, at Winchester. We had crossed 
the Alleghaiiies with Garuett, jiarticipated in his 
Northwest Virginia campaign, and had suffered the 
terrible hardsliips of his retreat before McClellan, 
and afterwards of tlie rugged service of tlie Alle- 
ghany and Cheat Mountain country, with Generals 
Loring and Henry R. Jackson. 

Jackson, at Wincliester, disclosed to me a trait 
which had not struck me before. There is a great 
difference, however, in looking at a brevet major 
and a full major-general. I had not noticed the 
saliency of his character — I will not say restlessness, 
but the desire to do, to be moving, to make and 
to embrace opportunity. At the Institute he was 
more tlian ordinarily passive. The fire was there, 
but he was a soldier ingrain, and he believed it to 
be his duty, in his subordinate place, to execute, not 
to suggest. 

His command was greatly augmented b\- the 
troops of General Loring, and the combined forces 
were known as the Army of the Yalle}'. I will not 
describe our march, in January, 1862, to Hancock 
and Romney, nor notice the campaign more than to 
say that it illustrated the go-aheaditive*iess of 
Jackson's cliaractcr. It was in the depth of winter, 
in a harsh climate and over mountain roads which 
would have appalled and deterred most men, yet 
Jackson was apparently unconscious of either cold 
or sviffering. He had his object in view and saw 
nothing else. His orders were to go, and we had to 
go. The hills were glaciers — neither horses nor 
mules could gain a foothold. What then? A corps 
of pioneers was organized, with pickaxes, and the 



SNOWBALLED BY TUE ENEMY. 511 

steep declivities were literally trenched from top to 
bottom, to enable the animals to stick their feet upon 
an unyielding surface. In this way we made, one 
da}', only two miles; but that much had been accom- 
plished. Jackson had a lively horror of the impedi- 
menta of an army. We were ordered to leave the 
wagons behind. The guns, of course, had to go — 
prolongs and pickaxes did it. "When we reached 
the I'iver opposite Hancock there was neither tent 
nor camp equipage. Xo houses were there, hardly 
a tree. The weather was intense, and a hard, crisp 
snow sheeted the landscape. It is a fact that the 
enemy literally snowballed us, for the missiles from 
their guns scattered the hard snow and hurled the 
fragments iipon us, almost as uncomfortable to us 
as the splinters from their shells. Days and nights 
we were there without shelter of any kind. One 
officer sent his servant back for his camp bed, and 
the next morning, covered with snow, it was an 
antique tomb, with the effigy of an ancient knight 
carved upon it. Fortunately for us, the fences of 
that country were not all of stone, and knew how 
to burn. 

That Jackson was not popular with his officers 
and men, even of his old brigade, at that time, is 
undeniable; for the true secret of the power of the 
American soldier is his individuality — the natural 
result of American citizenshijj; and Jackson's men 
thought, and, thinking, did not think that the ends 
accomplished by the Romney campaign justified the 
sacrifices which were made. 

It was tlieir later common baptism of fire in the 
battles which were not long after fought, and his 



512 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

absolute fearlessness, if not unconsciousness, of dan- 
ger, which endeared him to his men, and gave rise 
to the saying, when a shout was heard on the march 
or in camp, " Pshaw ! It is only Jackson or a rabbit." 

T\"hen Jackson followed !Milroy, after the battle 
of McDowell, down the valley of the South Branch 
of the Potomac, ho had with him several regiments 
of Garuett's old command, who had been chased up 
the same valley by those they were now pursuing. 
He fully entered into the feelings of tliesc men, and 
grindy enjoyed the joke of their turning the tables 
iijjon their former pursuers. 

At Staunton, on this march, he had picked up the 
Institute cadets. The bo3's seemed to enjoy the 
idea of serving with their old professor and taking 
part in real warfare. One night, returning from the 
front in the darkness, I hailed the sentinel and 
asked whose command I was passing. He replied, 
with a chuckle which I did not understand, " Smith's 
division, sir." "Ah," I rejoined, "General G. "W. 
Smith's division lias reinforced us — is that pos- 
sible ? " He burst out with a loud laugh, as he cried, 
" No, sir; Brevet Major-General Francis II. Smith's 
division, corps of cadets." I pardoned his impu- 
dence for his wit, and left him convulsed with 
laughter at the idea of " selling" a general officer. 

With Milro^' out of his way, owing to his mas- 
terly concentration of troops west of Staunton^who 
but the day before had crossed the mountain into 
East Virginia, " en route," as they supposed, for 
Richmond, and his junction with General Edward 
Johnson, and by the unrivaled celeritj' of his move- 
ments, Jackson returned to the Valley proper to 



PUZZLING THE ENEMY. 513 

operate agninst General Banks. lie had driven 
that officer to the Potomac after the brilliant aftairs 
in the Luray Valley and at Winchester, and was 
returning ixp the Valley, when, after a short illness, 
I reported to him again for dut}-. His headquarters 
were at a comfortable mansion, not far below Stras- 
burg. He insisted that I sliould rest myself upon 
his bed ; and as he assured me that he had no imme- 
diate expectation of collision with the enemy, I con- 
sented, and he carefully, with his own hands, threw 
his blanket over me. I mention this little incident 
to show the genuine kind-heartedness of his nature. 
I had not long indulged in this unusual luxury for 
an officer of the "foot cavalry" when the not very 
distant boom of artillery aroused me, and Jackson, 
hurrying in, directed me to hasten to the menaced 
front, on the Capon Spring Road, and with mj' own 
and Scott's brigade hold the enemy in check. It 
was the advance (a comparatively small force) of 
Fremont's army. 

At no time in his career was Jackson in a more 
hazardous situation. Behind him he had Banks, 
largely reinforced ; on his right iiank Fremont, and 
on his left flank Shields, the whole three armies 
converging upon Strasburg, which Jackson, encum- 
bered with prisoners and captured stores of all kinds, 
had not yet passed when he was struck by the 
enemy. But his invincible push and pluck saved 
him, with all his spoil. We marched and skirmished 
all that day and the wliole of the succeeding night 
until nine o'clock the following morning. It seemed 
a miracle, his escape from dangers which other men 
would have avoided, but which he seemed to delight 
33 



514 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

to push himself into. The result iiroved that what 
his officers often thought rashness was close calcula- 
tion, based upon factors which they did not possess. 
But certainly wo had some nice shaves, which kept 
us pretty generally in a state of anxiety and sus- 
pense. 

Jackson sought advice and counsel, as far as I 
knew, of none. He never called a council of war, 
to my knowledge, hut acted solely on his own 
responsibility ; and, unadvised as he was, it is a fact 
that he alwaj'S went farther in advance and retired 
later in retreat than any commander I ever knew. 

Jackson was a wonderful gatherer of supplies. 
He had a pet commissary, General Banks. He 
would leave behind nothing that he had captured. 
After the battle of Port Republic, when we had pur- 
sued the command of Shields miles down the Luray 
Valle}', we retraced our steps, marching in full view 
of the foiled army of Fremont, on the opposite side 
of the river, barred from approaching us because of 
burned bridges, and ensconced ourselves in Brown's 
Gap of the Blue Ridge. Late at night Jackson sent 
an officer to inquire if I had brought off the capt- 
ured artillery. The rcplj' was, " Everything except 
an unserviceable caisson," and that only for tlie want 
of horses; the weather was wretched, the roads 
intolerable ; but the order came back, post-haste, 
that, if it took every horse in the command, that 
caisson must be brought up before dajdight. It was 
ten miles off. The officer who had to fetch it was 
very much of the opinion of the soldier who, when 
his company was ordered to bring in a gun which 
had been left outside the skirmish line, proposed to 



ESCAPED CAPTURE. 515 

his captaiu to " take up a subscription to pay for the 
thing, and let it be;" but he hardly ventured to 
make the suggestion to General Jackson, and 
accordingly the caisson was " on time." It was just 
before the battle of Port Republic that Jackson so 
narrowly escaped capture, and the famous adventure 
of " the bridge " occurred. The day before the battle 
of Cross Keys, which preceded that of Port Repub- 
lic by one day, Jackson, retreating before the com- 
bined forces of Banks, Fremont, Milroy and Schenck 
in his rear, and Shields on his left flank, marching 
up the Luray Valley, reached the Shenandoah at the 
village of Port Republic. His trains of all kinds, 
quartermaster, commissary and ordnance, were 
thrown across the bridge into the town on the south 
bank, but, never in a hurry on a retreat, he halted 
his whole army on the opposite or north side of the 
river. His own headquarters were established in 
the town, which was not- occupied by more than a 
single company of soldiers. My own brigade was 
lying on the north side, next the town, in the hills, 
back from the river; General Winder's (Stonewall) 
brigade next back of me, and Ewell's Division some 
distance still in the rear, confronting the enemy. 

On the next morning the chaplains were directed 
to hold services in their several regiments, and the 
serenity of the atmosphere and the loveliness of the 
day betokened anything but the sanguinary strife 
which was to break the quiet of that Sabbath day. 

Believing that " cleanliness is next to godliness," 
and in the conservative effect of the army regulations 
which, founded upon that idea, required Sunday 
inspections, I ordered my regiments and batteries to 



616 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

assemble for inspection, instead of for cliurch. It 
was a fortunate circumstance, if I may not be per- 
mitted to call it a providential one. Just as the 
regiments were formed the sound of guns and the 
scattering fire of small arms was heard in the town. 
Without an instant's delay I rusiied my command 
by regiments towards the river, which was hidden 
from us by the intervening hills, aiming for the 
covered bridge which spanned the river. The 
Thirty-seventh Virginia Regiment, Colonel Fulker- 
son, from its position, had tlie good fortune tp be 
much in the advance of the others. Half way to 
the bridge I met General Jackson spun-ing up the 
road. He was not excited — ho never was, and never, 
under any circumstances that I am aware of, lost 
his presence of mind or yielded to panicky influences. 
I remember receiving no order from him, unless to 
hasten on ; there was no time for orders. I do not 
recollect his turning back witli us, as some writers 
have asserted ; I do not believe he did ; I think he 
pushed on to forward I'einforcements. Throwing 
one company from the rear of the regiment to 
deliver its fire upon the opposite bridge-head, with- 
out halting a moment, we rushed, by file, into the 
covered bridge. A gun was planted at its mouth 
on the other side, and the lanyard was in the hand 
of the Federal gunner ; but the impetus and shock 
of our advance were so sudden that he threw it 
down without firing and took to fiight. The other 
regiments were close behind the Thirty-seventh, and 
of course we soon regained the town. Mr. John 
Esten Cooke, in his life of Jackson, tells the story 
of Jackson's personating a Federal officer, ordering 



PRAYER BEFORE BATTLE. 517 

the gun away from the bridge, and then, before the 
mistake was discovered, escaping. I have no reason 
to doubt the correctness of the incident ; it would 
have been in keeping with the quiet coohiess of the 
man under the circumstances ; but it is certain that 
a whole brigade was double-quicking to the bridge 
before he had crossed it. 

The battle of Port Republic was fought next day. 
About twelve o'clock at night I was sent for by Gen- 
eral Jackson. He was pacing the floor of a small 
bedroom. He explained that Captain Mason, the 
famous bridge builder, would impi'ovise a means of 
crossing the north fork of the river, and that he 
wished me to cross, with my brigade, "at earl}- 
dawn" — his favorite expression — for the purpose of 
attacking Shields. He then informed me that he 
would walk a while in the garden attached to the 
dwelling-house, and invited me to lie upon his bed 
and sleep until his return. His object in seeking 
the seclusion of the garden was to engage in prayer, 
unseen b}- any eye. H*-.w^SL.without,._doubt, a 
g^nuin^l^leyouiman . 

I do notrtlnnk his religious belief, save and except 
his abiding confidence in the providence of C4()d, 
had any influence or effect in causing him to expose 
his person to the extent to which he did. He was 
simply impelled by a conviction, which often carried 
him too far, that his duty required him to go to the 
front and see for himself, and he was certainly as 
unconscious of fear as any man I ever met. 

At Cedar Run, or Slaughter's Mountain, the escape 
of Jackson from death was miraculous. The enemy 
had turned our left flank, and we were surrounded 



518 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

and forced back. He was in the thickest of the 
combat, at very short range. I rode up to him and 
insisted that he should retire, plainly and emphat- 
ically telling him it was no place for the commander 
of an army. He looked, perhaps, a little surprised, 
but the logic of the situation forced itself upon his 
mind, and with his invariable ejaculation of " Good, 
good," he rode to the rear. 

This battle was fought with an intensity of bitter 
feeling on the part of the Confederates, which was 
not often, if ever, exhibited. It was due to the 
obnoxious and outrageous orders issued by General 
Pope (General Orders No. 11), which intensely 
inflamed our soldiers and called forth I'etaliatory 
measures on the part of the Confederate govern- 
ment. 

After our lines were re-established and advanced, 
just after the gallant charge of General Baj'ard's 
cavalry upon us, rising a hill, the Twenty-third Yh- 
ginia Regiment encountered part of General Prince's 
brigade, who, taken" unawares, were forced to sur- 
render. A dozen muskets were leveled at their 
commander, when a sergeant saved his life by call- 
ing out, "Don't shoot him, boys, save him to hang." 

Jackson's movements were always shrouded in 
mystery. None of his division commanders were 
informed of his intentions, and it was a source of 
much annoyance to them to be ordered blindly to 
move, without knowing whither or to what purpose. 

Lying near Gordonsville, after our return from 
the battles around Richmond, I received an order to 
have my wagons packed and have my command 
stretched out on the turnpike by " early dawn " the 



UNCONSCIOUS OF DANGER. 519 

next morning. The order was obeyed to the letter. 
"We were standing under arms at tlie first gleam of 
day. There we stood ; the sun rose, and we were 
there still. An hour passed, bringing with it the 
heat of a July day, and yet no intimation of a move- 
ment. I rode to the general's headquarters, found 
him at breakfast, declined his invitation to join him, 
and, apologizing for the liberty which I ventured to 
take, begged to be allowed to march my troops any- 
where. He smiled, asked if I knew the road to the 
Green Spring country in Louisa County, and if so, I 
might proceed. He merely wished to change his 
camp. It was fifteen miles off", but before three o'clock 
the men were comfortably in bivouac, and I had 
received half a dozen invitations to dinner from the 
hospitable gentlemen of that beautiful region. 

About ten o'clock at night Ewell's troops joined 
us. They had received no orders to march until 
midday. On another occasion I was ordered to 
have my camp well i)oliced and to issue orders for 
regimental and brigade drills. It was significant of 
a long stay, but I did not so interpret it. I gave 
the orders, but also quiet directions to have rations 
cooked and wagons packed. Before sunrise we 
were marching in the direction of Fredericksburg, 
to meet a force which had ventured up the Eapidan. 
The orders to drill were intended, and properly so, 
for a blind, to prevent his contemplated movement 
being suspected or communicated by visitors to hia 
camp. 

I have mentioned Jackson's aftection for artillery 
and his unconsciousness of danger. At Cunning- 
ham's Ford, on the Rappahannock, in the campaign 



520 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

against Pope, Jackson's old cUvisiou, coiniuanded by 
himself, was in advance, with orders to cross the 
river at that point. These orders were counter- 
manded by General Lee, and the whole army halted. 
The enemy were showing tliemselves in considerable 
numbers on the opposite bank, Avhereupon I ran up 
several field-pieces to the front, bringing on a lively 
artillery duel. 

Our guns were moved from time to time to 
difierent positions to divert the range of the oppos- 
ing pieces, whose practice was excullent. Jackson 
rode up, approved of my disposition of the troops, 
wliich had been retired to the woods in the rear, and 
proposed to me to ride witli him to the batteries. 
Seeing no particular necessity for exposing my 
staff, I sent them back and accompanied bini. He 
took liis station close beside the guns, and soon 
seemed to become fascinated hy the work in baud 
and utterly unconscious of the peril to himself. He 
was out of place undoubtedly, but he seemed to have 
forgotten himself in his eagerness to see the guns 
served, leaning forward on his horse to watch the 
effect of the discliarges, and now and then exclaim- 
ing in his quick, sharp waj-, when a shot told, 
" Good, good." Men and horses were killed around 
him, among them one of his couriers, but he did nf(t 
seem to observe it or to realize the situation. All at 
once, however, he turned to me and asked, as 
quietly as if he had been sitting iu his tent, " General, 
are you. a man of family?" "Yes," I replied, "I 
have a wife and five children at home, and my im- 
pression is that in less than five minutes there will 
be a widow and five orphans there." " Good, good," 



CLASH OF THE ARMIES. 521 

and then suddenly, to the relief of all who were 
with him, it appeared to flash upon him that, how- 
ever exciting the role of battery commander migbt 
be, it was not altogether consistent with the position 
and responsibilities of the chief of a corps, and, 
giving orders to have the battery moved, he galloped 
to the rear, in which retrograde movement I felt it 
to be my duty to accompany him. I have always 
had a sort of suspicion, however, that his own life 
was saved on that occasion by his sympathy for my 
wife and children. 

The march of the two opposing armies the next 
day presented a novel spectacle. Each was seeking 
the upper fords of the Eappahannock, and on either 
bank of the river they moved, on nearly parallel 
lines, separated by a space so narrow that not only 
could their trains and artillery be seen by one 
another, but at times the lines of infantry and their 
distinctive flags be recognized. It was a reproduc- 
tion of the scene presented by the armies of Well- 
ington andMassenain Spain, so graphically described 
by the historians of the peninsular campaign. 

The star of Jackson seemed for a time the succeed- 
ing day to be dimmed, and, indeed, part of his corps 
was in great peril. Early's brigade and one regi- 
ment of Lawton's had been thrown to the north 
bank of the river by a bridge at Warreuton Springs, 
when a rain storm of unusual severity raged through- 
out the night, and every mountain tributary poured 
the volume of its accumulated waters into the torrent 
of the Rappahannock. 

Early's situation was one of imminent danger; 
he was beyond the hope of succor and enveloped 



522 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

by the enemy. The anxiety and solicitude felt for 
him by Jackson and his whole command wei'e 
intense. Early's self-reliance and the vigor and skill 
with which he mastered the situation were wonder- 
ful, and Jackson's eftbrts to extricate him untiring. 
He personally superintended the construction of the 
bridge over which relief was to be afforded, and over 
which Early ultimately returned, urging by his 
presence and encouragement the Herculean efforts of 
the men who were struggling in the water to fasten 
the timbers of a new and improvised bridge. His 
anxiety was great, but it was not manifested by 
speech or look. He was as impassive as when, the 
day before, he sat by the sulphur spring and asked 
questions about the properties of the water. 

The movement of Jackson, with his corps, in the 
rear of the army of General Pope is well known. 
No achievement of the war was effected with greater 
secrecy, if not with more absolute mystery to the 
enemy, than "Jackson's raid," as it was called, and 
no one of his exploits was planned and executed 
with more skill, a more consummate exhibition of 
the principles of strategy and grand tactics, or with 
greater celerity of movement, than this. Although 
cut oft" from the rest of General Lee's arm}', although 
miles removed from his supplies, although much 
nearer to the Federal capital than was the Federal 
army itself, he was as confident and self-reliant as 
if he had been where the Federal government and 
General Pope supposed bini to be — across the 
mountains, in the Valley of Virginia. 

I was ordered to hold my division in and around 
Manassas Junction, take charge of the immense stores 



CAPTURE OF COMMISSARY STORES. 523 

which we had captured, and, after providing for the 
Avants of the troops, to destroy what remained. 
Among the prisoners was the post commissary, 
a major, whose name I can not recall. He was a 
conscientious otficer, whatever his name might be, for 
he begged to be allowed to save his papers, in order 
to settle with his government, and was no little con- 
cerned when I suggested that the easiest way to 
square his accounts would be to report them 
" destroyed by the enemy," and I would take pleas- 
ure in summarily auditing and passing them in that 
manner. I then requested him to point out to me 
the barrels of whisky and other liquors which were 
in store, that I might have them destroyed before 
the men could get access to them. This was done, 
but he commended to my own use a rundlet of 
cognac, as being much too good to be staved. At 
this moment General Jackson and General Stuart 
entered the room, and I proposed to them to share 
with me this spoil and to test at once the com- 
missary's judgment. This they both declined to do, 
and I was obliged to drink " better luck next time " 
to my unfortunate host without their assistance. 

Only on this one occasion, in mj' service with Jack- 
son, did he communicate to me, and, as far as I know, 
to any of his officers, the plans he had formed. To 
General Stuart and myself, in that commissary office 
at Manassas Junction, he explained the movement 
he intended to make that night and the next day, 
and the manner in which he would reunite his corps 
with that of Longstreet, if that general should be 
unable to push his corps through Thoroughfare 
Gap. His idea was simply to place himself, by 



524 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

retiring to a point west of the Warrenton Turnpike, 
nearer to the Bull Run Mountains, and thus nearer 
to Longstreet, on the flank of the enemy, in the 
neighhorhood of Aldie Gap, and thus to provide the 
avenue of retreat in the event of the failure of 
Longstreet to join liim. 

In moving my division that night Jackson's habit 
of pushing to tlie front led to a ludicrous and, to 
me, rather unpleasant incident. Parties of our 
cavalry every now and then straggled past us, to the 
great annoyance of the infantry, who had much dif- 
ficulty in getting out of their vray. This irritated 
me so much that I was not very choice in the lan- 
guage that I applied to them. At last, one party, 
rather more numerous than their predecessors, 
passed by me, crowding the men oil" the side of the 
road, and breaking into the imperfect organization 
which the darkness only permitted. I called to this 
party to halt, and ordered the infantry to stop their 
further progress, threatening to have them taken 
from their horses, if not well trampled besides, by 
my men, as a punishment for their reckless l)ehavior. 
I was very angry, and hardly know what expletives 
I used, when one of the party called out, " This is 
General Jackson and his staff, sir." I made the 
best apologies I could, and frankly told General 
Jackson he was out of place, that I was too far to 
the front myself; we were near the leading regi- 
ment, and we had better halt and allow a brigade or 
two to pass before he ventured further. To this he 
willingly consented, and we remained together until 
the troops were halted, at daybreak. 

At the battle of Fredericksburg Jackson again 



WINTER QUARTERS. 525 

unnecessarily exposed himself. The morning of the 
second day, when the contending armies were con- 
fronting each other, he rode with me along the front 
line from Taylor's quarters towards our right, to 
verify the position of my division. We rode 
between the line of battle and the line of pickets, 
and while the practice of firing from the picket line 
had been to a great extent abandoned, the fact, 
which was quite plainly manifest, that our party 
contained at least one general officer aftbrded a 
great temptation to sharpshooters to pick him oft', 
and, in fact, it proved too great to be resisted, for a 
scattering fire was kept upon us, the balls passing 
uncomfortably near our heads. However, no one 
was hurt. 

The winter of 1862 aff"orded Jackson more rest 
and qi;iet than any other period of his military 
career. His corps occupied the country near the 
south bank of the Rappahannock, from the neigh- 
borhood of Fredericksburg to the town of Port 
Royal. Intermediate between these places is Moss 
Neck, one of the seats of the ancient Virginia 
family of Corbin. This old and handsome resi- 
dence was oft'ered to Jackson for his headquarters. 
He was induced to visit it, and was received by the 
ladies of the family with their accustomed hospi- 
tality and with those evidences of admiration for 
his services which were accorded him wherever he 
went, coupled Avith an urgent invitation that he 
would establish himself there for the winter. On 
leaving the house, the courier who held his horse 
modestly inquired how he liked the establishment, 
and if he would not consent to occupy it. " Yes," 



526 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

said Jackson, " I think I will select this place for 
my headquarters." "I am very much pleased," 
was the reply of the courier; "I shall feel honored 
that you do so. I am Mr. Corbin, the owner of the 
property." 

I mention this circumstance to show the character 
of the material of which the Southern soldiery was 
composed. The wealth, the refinement, the learning 
and the best blood were in the army, and much or 
most of it in the ranks. Our men were born to 
command, and knew how to obey. 

At Moss Neck Jackson declined to occupy the 
mansion, but modestly contented himself with an 
office on the lawn. There he received a number of 
visitors, attracted by his reputation. Among them, 
I believe, the present Lord Wolseley. His recep- 
tion of them and his general officers was marked by 
a modest but genuine politeness. 

In the early spring of 1863 I was ordered to the 
Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, 
and my connection with General Jackson ceased. I 
never saw him afterwards, as he died two months 
later. 




PERSONAL RECOLLECTION^S 



" STONEWALL " JACKSON. 

By Brigadikr-General Bradley T. JonNSON. 

(Commanding Mai>'hmd Line under General Jackson.) 

I CAN add nothing to the grand record of achieve- 
ments made by General Jackson's biographers, but 
I am glad to be asked to light a farthing rushlight 
that may fairly illuminate some quaint mark of 
characteristic which has escaped the glare of general 
observation. 

I must excuse myself in advance for the predom- 
inance of the personal pronoun, for I can add noth- 
ing about Jackson that is not derived from personal 
knowledge. 

I first knew him in May, 1861. I had a company 
at Frederick, Md., and went to Harper's Ferry to 
see what arrangements I could make about get- 
ting myself and my men taken into the service of 
the Confederacy. 

I went at once to headquarters at Barbour's house, 
and asked to see Colonel Jackson. Colonel Angus 
McDonald came out to find out my business, and 
without delay took me in to Colonel Jackson's room. 
I explained my business, that I had one company of 
which I was captain, and that I had no doubt of 
soon getting a regiment if I had a point where 



528 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

I could rendezvous and feed them, and that the 
Pomt of Rocks on the Virginia side was tlie best 
point for that operation. 

Colonel Jackson said to Colonel Marshall McDon- 
ald, " Give Captain Johnson an order to report to 
Captain Asliby, at the Point of Rocks." And that 
was the way I got into the Confederate armj'. 

Colonel Angus McDonald then examined me at 
length about the movements of the Federals at Cham- 
bersburg, some forty miles north of Frederick, and . 
whose movements, in fact, were the incentive to my 
movement to Virginia. He wanted me to establish 
a chain of coramunicadon from farm house to farm 
house from Chambersburg to Frederick, whereby 
woi-d could be passed to me as to what was going on 
in the Federal camps. 

I thought the scheme an utterly wild one, but 
Colonel Jackson sat by and never opened his lips, in 
a conversation which lasted certainly an hour. I 
was not impressed by him or his silence. I thought 
that was the way soldiers did, and that it was part 
of the play. But I went about my business without 
spending much time in cogitating over the manners 
or the ways of my commanding officer. 

This was on May 6th, 1861, and on May 8th I 
moved to Virginia. While I was at Point of Rocks 
General J. R. Trimble came to me and we went to- 
gether to call on Colonel Jackson. Trimble was a 
"West Point man, an old soldier and a man of ability. 
He afterwards became Major-General Trimble. I 
was as ignorant of military affairs, tactics or etiquette 
as the simplest country boy from the mountains. But 
I had too much respect for authority to presume to 



" WE NEVER TELL THAT." 529 

ask curious questions of my superiors. Triml)le had 
no such reticence. He was as inquisitive as could 
be and he carried Jackson all over tlie hills and 
valleys, rivers and mountains of the neighborhood, 
discussing their I'elative value for defence. 

Colonel Jackson sat perfectly silent and erect 
during all this overflow of talk, and never made a 
sign of approval, disapproval or anything else. 
Trimble had been an engineer on the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad and knew what he was talking 
about, and his conversation was very interesting 
and instructive to me. At last he said, as the point 
and consequence of his dissertation on the defensive 
lines of Harper's Ferry, " How many men have you 
here present for duty?" -Tackson said, without a 
modulation of his voice, as if he were answering 
the most commonplace instead of the most astound- 
ing question ever put to a commanding oflicer by 
an outsider, "We never tell that!" That was all. 
It was not as deep as a well nor as wide as a barn- 
door but it was suflicient, and the conversation 
stopped there and we left. 

General Jackson had, when he pleased, as much 
tact as the most adroit diplomatist. In September, 
1862, happening to be in Richmond, Mr. Seddon, 
the Secretary of War, asked me to escort to the 
army, then around and north of Winchester, three 
English gentlemen of consequence, who had brought 
letters of introduction to President Davis, General 
Lee and the Confederate government. The govern- 
ment desired to show them some particular atten- 
tion, and therefore I was requested to take them up 
to General Lee's headquarters, which I did. They 
34 



530 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

were Mr. Lawley, correspondent of the London 
Times, Mr. Vizatelli, correspondent of the Illustrated 
News, and Major Garnet Wolseley, on furlougli 
from his regiment in Caniidu. 

He has now become Sir Garnet Wolseley, Field 
Marshal Lord Wolseley of Cairo, commander-in- 
chief of the British armj-. 

Mr. Lawley was the youngest son of a peer and 
represented the greatest paper in the world. Mr. 
Vizatelli was a Bohemian of the Boliemians. Had 
been everywhere, with all sorts of people. His last 
adventure had been with Garibaldi in Sicily. He 
was lost in the English advance to Khai'toum to 
the relief of "Chinese" Gordon. 

I took my party to Staunton, to Wincliester, to 
general headquarters, where the letters to General 
Lee were presented. After that call was made wo 
all rode over to General Jackson's, to whom I intro- 
duced them, by order of General Leo. 

We were all seated in front of General Jackson's 
tent and be took up the conversation. He had been 
to England and had been greatly impressed with 
the architecture of the Cathedral of Durham and 
^^'ith the history of the Bishopric of Durham. 
The Bishops of Durham had been Palatines from 
the date of the Conquest and exercised semi-royal 
authority over their bishopric, which was a bul- 
wark against the Kelts on the one side and the 
pirates of the North Sea on the other. 

There is a fair history of the Palatinate of Dur- 
ham in Blackstono and Coko, l)ut I can liardly think 
that General Jackson derived his information frojn 
those two fountains of the law. Anvhow be exam- 



A NEW CHARACTER. 531 

ined and crovss-examiued the Englishmen in detail 
about the cathedral and the close and the rights of 
the bishop, etc., etc. He gave them no chance to 
talk, and kept them busy answering questions, for he 
knew more about the Durham question than they did. 

As we four rode away I said, " Gentlemen, you 
have disclosed Jackson in a new character to me, 
and I've been carefully observing him for a year and 
a half. You have made him exhibit fnesse, for he 
did all the talking to keep you from asking too 
curious or embarrassing questions. He did not want 
to say anything, so life did all the talking. I never 
saw anything like it in him before." We all laughed 
and agreed that the general had been too much for 
the interviewers. 

I never saw General Jackson laugh or deviate 
from an intense earnestness of deportment and 
demeanor, I would call it " seriousness." But occa- 
sionally his eye would twinkle for a flash, and you 
could not always tell what he was thinking about. 

One evening he sent for me to come to his quar- 
ters and I rode over to Bunker Hill to see him. He 
wanted to talk to me about ni}- promotion, to secure 
which he greatly interested himself, and said I 
.should stay there all night and in the morning we 
would lay the subject before General Lee. I slipped 
out after this very dry conversation, and Hunter 
McGuire, his medical director, and I "sampled" 
some very new and very fiery apple-jack which 
Hunter had hid under his blankets in the mess 
tent. At the supper table — we had three turkeys for 
supper, I remember; the women of tiiat neighbor- 
hood lavished good things to eat on " their Stone- 



532 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

wall" for he was " theirs" — McGuire aud I, moved 
and seduced by the spirit of mischief aud possibly 
also by the spirit of apple-jack, started a learued 
discussiou on the discovery, use and effects of alco- 
hol on the humau physiology, its effect on the 
heart and circulation, and on the brain and the 
nerves. We concluded that it was an unmitigated 
evil and that we did not like either the taste or the 
effect of it. Drinking, we concluded, was the great 
curse of modern civilization ; we had the grace not to 
pretend that we did not drink but to deplore the abuse 
and extended use of alcohol and its bad effects. 

So far the discussion had been confined to the 
two young braggarts, who were showing off their 
knowledge to hi<le their offenses. 

The general sat straight, never looked to the 
right nor to the left, and let the cockerels crow them- 
selves out. Then said he, " I like the taste and the 
effect both, that's the reason I never touch it." To 
this day I don't know whether he smelled a rat, 
from the odor of the apple-jack in the tent or the 
loquacity of the disquisition on the evil of drinking. 
But he shut us up. 

The next morning we all three rode over to 
General Lee's, and on the Avay to Winchester after 
that call, at McGuire's instigation, I got at tlie gen- 
eral to iiavc his photograph taken, on the ground 
that it would gratify so many people with so little 
trouble to himself. 

He put me off and rather pooh-poohed the notion, 
as rather weak for a man to have his photograph 
taken. However, in the town he went off with 
McGuire, and I went about my business. Returning 



AT THE photographer's. 533 

to camp in the afternoon, we fell in together on the 
Berryville Pike. 

McGiiire said to me aside, "The general had his 
photograpli taken, sure enough. At the dinner 
tahle my little sister [a girl of fourteen or there- 
abouts, I think] got to teasing him about it and he 
agreed, and he and she and I went down to liant- 
zahu's and had it taken. He had his hair trimmed 
first, however." 

Of course I claimed a copy from the general, and 
he said I should have one, which McGuire afterward 
gave me, one of the few copies from this original 
negative at Winchester. It is the portrait frontis- 
piece to this volume. I like the one taken by Minnis, 
of Richmond, the photographer who went to Guiney's 
or Hamilton's in the spring of 1S63, on my motif)n, 
to get his photograph. The Winchester one was 
always a flat one. The pi-ofile view of Minnis' 
shows him to the best advantage. After death his 
face and profile were perfectly handsome. 

All that was thirty-three j'ears ago just this season, 
the fall of 1862. But three hundred years from 
now the people of Virginia will I'ecall the grand 
figui'e, the close-shut lips, the bright ej'es shining 
beneath the low visor, and in all tlie world those 
who love patriotism, justice, truth, honor, chivalry 
and devotion to duty will turn to him as among the 
noblest and highest types that Virginia has ever 
given to humanity. 



November 1, 189.5. 




GENERAL JACKSON. 

By Brigadier-General James H. Lane. 

|(''>mniHmlrd BrigHiie Army of Nurthern A'irgiuia.) 

General T. J. .Jackson and I entered the Virginia 
Military Institute the same year, 1851, he as a pro- 
fessor and I as a cadet. That quiet, jiolitc and 
dignified new professor, twice hrevetted for gallantry 
in the Mexican War, 80(jn imiiressed that corps of 
high-toned hut mischievous young Virginians as 
being a man of intense individuality of character. 
He was conscientious and fearless in the discharge 
of every duty and strictly just in all his intentions. 

In his class room and at artillery di'ill he always, 
in a few but polite words accompanied with that 
well-known military salute, turned the laugh on all 
cadets who ventured a joke at his expense, and no 
excuses were ever rendered for the reports subse- 
quently read at parade, the result of their j-outhful 
indiscretion. 

While ill camp I was visited by my sister, and 
during her stay at the Rockbridge Alum Professor 
Jackson was exceedingly polite and deferential. 
She was deeply impressed by his delicate and gentle- 
manly attention and kindness to her — a young girl 
just from school — and it was through her tliat I first 
learned to honor the then unknown hero for his 
chivalrous bearing in the presejice of women. 



ox THE BATTLE-FIELD. 535 

The outbreak of hostilities brought to this modest 
professor his (ipportuuitj to show the world that he 
was a very great soldier — that he possessed an 
instinctive genius for war of an amazing brilliancy 
that could not long be t'oncealed. His conclusions, 
and their tremendous results when reduced to 
practice, never appeared to be reached througli 
ordinary intellectual processes, but by instantaneous 
ins[>iration. 

He knew that his ragged and often starving soldiers 
idolized him and had most implicit confidence in 
him, and yet he never courted public demonstrations 
of any kind. However, his presence on the march 
and on the l)attle-field always created the greatest 
enthusiasm. I often noticed that when cheered on 
the march he would simply lift his cap in recognition 
of the shout and immediate!}' spur his Old Sorrel to 
get by as soon as possible. At Cedar Run, when he 
appeared in my front after we had driven the enemy, 
my men greeted him with one of their wild rebel 
yells, and when it had subsided many called out: 
"Let General Jackson tell us what he wishes done 
and we will do it."' In recognition of such great 
enthusiasm on the battle-field he simply bared his 
liead and said not a woi'd. 

This great soldier was pure and clean as ever man 
was; he was both a lover and doer of truth. Of the 
slightest equivocation or of any conscious iiulirec- 
tion he was absolutely incapable. In this respect 
he measured others by his own standard and, as 1/ 
well know, he expected every man, and more 
especially every oiScer, to perform his whole duty 
without evasion or neglect or failure. 



536 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

When ill camp at Bunker Hill, after tlie battle of 
Sharpsburg, wbere tbe gallant Brancli was killed, I, 
as colonel commanding tbe brigade, was directed by 
General A. P. Hill to bold my command in readiness, 
witb tbree days' rations, for detached service, and to 
report to General Jackson for further orders. That 
was all the information that Hill could give me. I 
had been in Jackson's corps since the battles around 
Richmond, and had been very derelict in not pay- 
ing my respects to" my old professor. As I rode t() 
his headquarters I wondered if he would recognize 
me. I certainly expected to receive bis orders in a 
few terse sentences and to be promptly dismissed 
with a military salute. He knew me as soon as I 
entered his tent, though we had not met for years. 
He rose quickly, with a smile on his face, took my 
hand in both of his in the warmest manner, expressed 
his pleasure at seeing me, chided me for not having 
been to see him and bade me be seated. His kind 
words, the tones of his voice, his familiarly calling 
me Lane, whereas it had always been Mr. Lane at 
the Institute, put me completely at my ease. Then, 
for the first time, I began to love tbat reserved man 
whom I had always honored and respected as my pro- 
fessor, and whom I greatly admired as my general. 

After a very pleasant and somewhat protracted 
conversation, lie ordered me to move at once, and as 
rapidly as possible, to North Mountain Depot, tear 
up the Baltimore and Oliio Railroad, and put myself 
in communication with General Hampton, who 
would cover my operations. The cavalry outposts 
then did not extend beyond that point. "While we 
were there burning the ties, bi^uding the rails and 



lane's briuade. 537 

tying "irou cravats" around some of the trees, 
General Jackson sent a member of liis statf to see 
how we were progressing. Tliat night as I, my 
staff, and other young officers of my command were 
about to attend an entertainment given us by some 
of the patriotic ladies of Iledgesville, I received 
orders to move at once and quickly to Martiusburg, 
as there had been heavy skirmishing near Kerneys- 
ville. ^ext morning when I reported to General 
Jackson lie received me in the same cordial, warm- 
hearted manner, complimented me on the thorough- 
ness of my work, told me that he had recommended 
me for promotion to take permanent charge of 
Branch's brigade, and tbat as I was the only person 
recommended for the position through military 
channels, I would be appointed in spite of the two 
aspirants who were tr^'ing to bring political influ- 
ence to bear in Richmond in their behalf. When I 
rose to go he took my' hand in both of his, looked 
me steadily in the eye, and, in words and tones of 
friendly warmth which can never be forgotten, again 
expressed his confidence in my promotion, and bade 
me good-bye, with a " God bless you. Lane." 

When I had reported back to General Hill and 
was about to begin to destro}' the railroad near Ker- 
ne3'sville, a courier rode up with orders from General 
Jackson " that Lane's brigade be sent back to 
Bunker Hill to select a new camp and rest, as it had 
done its share of the work." This is one of the 
many instances to show that Jackson, while watch- 
ing the enemy and planning great battles, was never 
forgetful of details, and that he always looked after 
the comfort of his men to the best of his ability. 



538 LIFE OK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

My last social chat with General Jackson was on 
Hamilton"s Heights, near Fredericksbnrg. "When I 
reniurkod that our being ordered up from Moss 
Neck was a great surprise to nie, he asked "Why 
so?"' And when I laughingly told him it was 
because he had Mrs. Jackson with him, and I 
thought him too gallant a soldier to allow his wife 
to be at the front in the hour of danger, he replied, 
with a smile: "Ah, Lane, you must not trust 
always to appearances." Little did I dream then 
that he was to fall so soon before the unerring rifles 
of my brave men. 

After that brilliant tiank movement at Chancellors- 
ville my brigade was formed across the plank road 
for a night attack. "Push right ahead. Lane!" was 
General Jackson's last order, lie rode directly to 
the front, and I to the right to put my line in 
motion. Suddenly there was a skirmish fire in my 
front, from right to left ; then the sound of liorse- 
men ; next, the cry of cavalry, and then those 
deadly volleys from the Eighteenth North Carolina. 
The gallant Pender, whose line had not been formed, 
dashed througli the dark woods on the right of the 
road, calling for "Lane," to whom he made the sad 
announcement that our illustrious leader and Gen- 
eral A. P. Hill had been wounded, through a misap- 
prehension by their own devoted followers, and 
advised me not to advance. 

There are periods in every man's life when all the 
concentrated sorrow and liitterness of years seem 
gathered in one short day or night. Such was 
the case with myself, as I lay under an oak the 
second night, black with smut and smoke, and 



Jackson's death. 639 

reckoned the frightful c(jst of that ooiuplete victory, 
aud reflected that in less tliau tiiirty-six hours one- 
third of my command had been swept away; one 
field officer only left for duty out of the thirteen 
carried into action — the rest all killed or wounded, 
and most of them my warmest friends; my boy 
brother, who had been on my staft', lay dead on the 
field, and Stonewall Jackson, my old professor, 
whom I, as a boy, had honored and respected, and 
whom, as my general, I then loved, was lying 
wounded, and probably dying, shot by my own 
gallant brigade, those brave North Carolina A'eterans, 
whom I had so often heard wildly cheering him as 
he appeared on many a hard-fought battle-field. 

Jackson died, but his memory lived in the hearts 
of his soldiers, and on many a subsequent hard- 
fought field I heard them exclaim : " Oh, for another 
Jackson ! " 



LfMcU^A^zilZ^^.^.:^}. 



Extract from the " War of the Rebellion," Series 
I, Vol. XIX, Part II, page 689 : 

•' Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia. 

October 30th, 1862. 

" Major-General Gustavus AV. Smith, Command- 
ing, etc., liichmond, Va.: 

"General, — I have received your letter of the 
26th ultimo. When I applied for Brigadier-General 
Pettigrew I did not know that he was assigned to 



640 LIFK iiF (iE.NERAL THuMAS .1. JACK.SUX. 

the command of a brigade. I do not desire that lie 
shall be disturbed. I think it better that General 
(T. L.) Clinginan shordd remain in North Carolina, 
where he could probably be of moz'e service than 
here. Under the circumstances I consider it just and 
projyer that the colonel* of Branches brigade, irho has 
been reeommended for proriioiion, he assigned to the 

command 

"[Most respectfully and trulj- yours, 

"R. E. Lee, General." 



* General Lane was colonel of Branch's brigade referred to above. 



// 




GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



I iiortrait in tlie poeeeeeion uf Mrs. J««_keon,foii«iilere<i 
the beet extant. j 



BATTLE OF CHAXCELLORSVILLE, VA. 

A TBIBUTB TO 

GENERAL JACKSON. 
By Augustus Cuoate Hamlix. 

(Late Lieutenaot-Colouel United Statas Army.) 

During the past live years earnest attempts have 
been made to decipher the varied and the vague 
accounts of the events occurring at the battle of 
Chancellorsville on the first day, or May 2d, 1863. 
On one of the three personal visits to the battle-fiekl 
General Lane and Colonel W. H. Palmer, Colonel 
Blackford, Captain Randolph Barton and others of 
the Confederate army, General I'cnnock Huey, Gen- 
eral J. T. Lockman, Captain Herbert Dilger of the 
Federal army, all of whom had been engaged in the 
battle, accompanied me, and it is to them that the 
clear solution of many of the obscure and ambigu- 
ous accounts have been made possible, and to the 
proper and just credit of either army. 

At half past five p. M., May 2d, 1863, Jackson and 
his army, after passing in broad daylight directly in 
front of the Federal army entrenched on the plateau 
of Chancellorsville, had successfully reached its 
right flank and rear, and with two and three lines of 
battle concealed in the dense woods, and with a front 
of two miles in length, was about to overwhelm the 
almost unsuspecting foe. Jackson's objective point 



/ 

( 



A FATAL UELAY. 543 

was the open space in rear of the Cliaiicellor House, 
the vital center of the Federal position, and but 
three miles distant. Sickles had taken twenty 
thousand men from the right center of the fortiiicd 
line and had gone southward, past the Welford 
furnace, and at a distance of two miles was vainly 
seeking the whereahouts of Jackson and his men 
who had been seen in the vicinity in the early morn- 
ing, and at this moment there was absolutely no 
obstacle in Jackson's path but the nine thousand 
men of the Eleventh Corps extended on a line of 
over a mile in length and nearly all facing south 
and unprepared for a vigorous attack on their right 
flank and rear. 

Jackson's first orders were to advance without 
lialting and seize the position at the Doudal farm, 
and it is clearly evident, that if his commands had 
been implicitly obeyed, the two divisions of Devens 
and Schurz would have been destroyed at the first 
blow. But the error of a subordinate kept seventeen 
regiments on Jackson's extreme right from march- 
ing at the same time up and along the plank road 
and enveloping the left of the Eleventh Corps. For 
forty to sixty minutes this great force of seventeen 
regiments was detained, and the delay was fatal. In 
half an hour Devens's division of nearly four thou- 
sand men, attacked in flank and rear, was crushed; 
in twenty minutes more Schurz's division was forced 
back to Bushbeck's line across the Doudal farm. At 
seven p. m. the l^attered wrecks of the Federal corps 
were driven from the Bushbeck line into the woods, 
and the way to the White House was open to the 
victorious Confederates. For an hour and a half the 



544 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

nine thousand men of tlie Eleventh Corps, attacked 
in flank and in i-ear, witliout any assistance from tlie 
other corps, had endeavored to stay the impetuous 
inarch of Jackson's^ determined battalions, hut had 
been hui'led back into tlie foi'est with a loss of eiglit 
<n- nine guns, fifteen liundred killed and wounded 
men and about a tiiousand prisoners. The Federal 
army was now in extreme peril, and the single ave- 
nue to the important point near the White House 
was only about two thousand yards distant, and no 
force to oppose the advancing Confederates except 
the twelve or fifteen hundred men of Schurz's retreat- 
ing upon it. Sickles and his twenty thousand men 
were still far below in the depths of the forest and 
as yet unconscious of the fact that Jackson's army 
had been pulverizing the Eleventh Corps in his rear 
for an hour and a half, and that his chances of 
escape were exceedingly small ; in fact. Hooker did 
not learn of Jackson's attack until almost half past 
six in the evening, as he heard none of the sounds 
of the battle and no couriers came to him. 

"When Jackson's men drove the Federals into the 
woods, at seven o'clock in the evening, there seemed 
to be no escape for the Federal army from a serious, if 
not a fatal, disaster, but at this moment Generals Cols- 
ton and Rodes, who had commanded the two front 
lines of battle, urged Jackson to call a halt to allow 
some of their tired and broken battalions to reform. 
Jackson chafed at the delay and reluctantly gave 
the order to halt and reform the broken parts of the . 
two divisions; in the meantime, as he Inul nine 
unbroken brigades close at hand, he ordered Hill, 
with his powerful and fresh division, to push up the 



STA.MPKDE OF ARTILLERY. 545 

road, cover the front and prepare for further attack. 
Nearly all of Jackson's army obeyed the order to 
halt, and halted at or near the Doudal Tavern, but 
desultory groups, numbering from one to two thou- 
sand men, not heeding or liearing the order to halt, 
drifted slowly half a mile nji the road to the log 
works of AVilliams' division of the Twelfth Corps, 
where they captured then, or shortly after, two hun- 
dred or more of the Federal soldiers of the Twelfth 
Corps returning through the woods in search of 
their former positions, and they then returned with 
their prisoners to their resijcctive regiments, reform- 
ing at or near the Doudal House. About two hun- 
dred more foragers from Doles's brigade, in search 
of adventure or booty, went forward in the woods 
as far as Hazel Grove, about a mile south of the 
plank road, where they stampeded the Federal trains 
and artillery resting along the entrance to Hazel 
Grove field, and soon frighti'ued Pleasanton out of 
his wits, but took to their heels as soon as the ter- 
rific artillery fire from the twenty-two Federal can- 
non permitted them to rise from the cover they 
found in the deserted Third Corps redoubts. 

The battle Pleasanton describes belongs to the 
pages of Baron Munchausen. 

General A. P. Hill ordered his division forward, and 
General James H. Lane took the lead with his brigade 
of North Carolinians, preceded by a battery of three 
guns. The battery, arriving at the entrance of the 
Hazel Grove road, unlimbered and tested the Fed- 
eral line, supposed to be about twelve hundred 
yards distant and obscured in the evening haze. 
The first shot was fired at eight p. M., and found the 
35 



546 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKt<OK. 

Federal artillery ready for action, and who promptly 
replied with a rapid lire from eight or ten guns, 
which raked Lane's men, then coming np the plank 
road in close col num. The fire was so severe that 
Lane ordered his men to deflect to the left of the 
road and in the woods, out of the direct range of 
the enemy's guus. 

The artillery duel continued for about fifteen 
minutes, and then Hill ordered Lane to deploy his 
men in line of battle and prepare for a night attack. 
The Thirty-third North Carolina Regiment was 
thrown out as a line of skirmishers and deployed 
near Van Wert's cabin, about two hundred and fifty 
or three hundred yards in front of tlie picket guns 
or the log works of the Twelfth Corps. On the 
riglit of the road, and in front of the abatis of these 
abandoned works. Lane placed a line of battle, the 
Thirty-seventh and the Seventh, while on the left of 
the road the Eighteenth and Twenty-eighth were 
drawn up, a little in advance of the line on the 
right of the road, and as soon as this Avas accom- 
plished Lane rode back to the road for his final 
orders, as he understood Hill that he was to prepare 
for action. When Lane reached the road it was too 
dark to distinguish persons, and he called out for 
General Hill, but the reply he got came from Gen- 
eral Jackson, who recognized the voice of his old 
pupil and called him to his side. He found Jackson 
at or near the meeting of the Hazel Grove and the 
Bullock road and in rear of the three guns placed 
on picket. Jackson was at that time alone ; neither 
Hill nor any of his staff was visible. 

Lane reported for final orders, and Jackson, rais- 



CAPTURE OF COLONEL SMITH. 647 

ing his arm iu the direction of the enemy, e*. ;iaimed 
briefly, " Push right ahead, Lane, right ahead ! "' 
Lane knew his old instrnctor too well to ask for an}' 
further instructions, and at once rode along his line 
to prepare for the advance, and he had reached the 
extreme right of his position and was about to give 
the signal when Lieutenant-Colonel Hill, one of his 
bravest ofiicers, came to him and begged him not to 
give the order until he could ascertain what forces 
were moving on his right and rear, whether they 
belonged to the army of Lee or Hooker. At this 
time distinct sounds of troops and trains could be 
heai'd in the woods, both in front and on the right 
flank, which was totally unprotected. In fact, 
neither Jackson, Hill nor Lane had lieard of the 
conflict at Hazel Grove, as described by Pleasanton 
and Sickles, and they were not aware of any danger 
impending from that quarter. Lane was so ignorant 
of the presence of the enemy in that direction that 
he had not placed a single picket on the right of the 
log works, behind which his men were then stand- 
ing, nor on the Hazel Grove road; neither was he 
aware of the cannon and caissons and wagons of 
the Third Corps, left in that road in the stampede 
caused by the Georgia foragers, an hour or more 
previously. 

While Lane and Hill were discussing the causes of 
the sounds on their right, a Federal officer came up 
along the log works, waving a handkerchief and 
demanding to know what troops were in front of 
him. Th« ofiicer proved to be Colonel Smith of 
the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania 
Regiment, which had come up from the expedition 



548 LIFE OF liENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

towards the Furnace, and were trying to find their 
baggage and former place of the regiment in the 
log works; he was promptly seized by some of the 
men of the Seventh !North Carolina and brought 
before G-eneral Lane, who then ordered Colonel Hill 
to send a t^quad of soldiers and ascertain how much 
of a force was threatening their right iiank and con- 
cealed by the wood and darkness of the night. 
Lieutenant Emack, of the Seventh North Carolina, 
was detailed with four men to reconnoitre the wood 
from which Colonel Smith had emerged. About 
this time a Federal officer [probably General Kneip] 
rode up in the woods in front and called for General 
Williams of the Twelfth Corps. One of tiie skir- 
mishers of the Thirty-third North Carolina fired at 
the Federal officer, and the fire was returned by the 
Federal pickets not far distant, and a part of the 
Seventh North Carolina fired a volley in the direction 
of the Federal officer and into the rear of a portion 
of the skirmish line of tlie Thirty-third North Car- 
olina. The picket fire became more animated and 
rolled along both picket lines to the northward, past 
the plank road, and was increased by volleys from 
one of the Federal regiments stationed near the 
plank road. This desultory firing occurred shortly 
after nine p. m., and is the cause of the accident to 
General Jackson. When Lane left Jackson he was 
in the road near where the Bullock road comes into 
the plank road, and he was alone, and such was the 
distribution of his troops at this moment that a 
Federal scouting party could have come up the 
Hazel Grove road and seized him as prisoner of war. 
Even as late as nine p. m. it was totally unguarded. 



MAP OF BATTLE OF CHAKCELLOKSVILLE. 



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550 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

and Major Jed Hotchkiss, of Jackson's staft", rode 
down the road to the Hazel Grove field at this hour 
without meeting a solitary soldier of either arm)', 
and, in fact, he did not know that Lane's men were 
deployed between him and Chancellor's, perhaps 
a hundred yards distant. General Hill and some of 
l)is staff soon joined Jackson, and tlien Jackson 
gave to Hill his orders in the brief sentence, "Press 
them, cut them off from the United States Ford, 
Hill, press them!" A. P. Hill replied that none of 
his staff were familiar with the country, thereupon 
Jackson turned to Boswell, who was well acquainted 
with all roads and paths, and ordered him to report 
to Hill. Soon after the party turned to the left to 
the space in the forest where the Bullock and 
Mountain roads came into the plank road, and were 
passing up the Mountain road when a courier froui 
General Stuart, who liad gone to Ely Ford with his 
cavalry, rode up to Jackson and delivered a message. 
Jackson ordered tlie courier to wait for a reply. 
This cavalryman, named Dav Kyle, was Ijorn at the 
White House, in rear of Chancellorsville, and was 
perfectly acquainted with every path and road on 
the plateau of Chancellorsville, and it is to him that 
we are alile to trace every footstep from tliis time 
until the fatal event. 

The Mountain road is an old road which comes 
out of the plank road about half a mile from Chan- 
cellorsville, and runs parallel with it, and north of 
it, sixty to eighty yards distant, and again comes 
into it, together with the Bullock road, opposite the 
road from Hazel Grove. Although long out of use, 
it is still distinctly visible to-day. It is certain that 



JACKSON IN DANGER. 651 

Jackson and his party passed along the mountain 
path and not np tlie plank road, past the guns 
placed in battery. Furtliermore, the two officers of 
the Eighteenth North Carolina Regiment, stationed 
on the plank road, have declared that Jackson did 
not pass by them but turned oti" to the left of their 
rear and passed out of view in the forest. Jaekson 
was well aware that the plank road was swept by 
the fire of the Federal cannon at Fairview, and that 
the batteries were ready to open fire at the first sign 
of a movement b}' the enemy. Moreover, there 
was nothing to call him on the plank road, for Fair- 
view was not his objective point, but the White 
House, and the path that he was upon led directly 
to it. 

For the first one hundred yards the Bullock and 
^Afountain roads are blended together, and up this 
roadway, about nine o'clock in the evening, the 
party of Confederate officers jiassed along, with 
their chieftain riding in advance. About one hun- 
dred yards from the entrance of the pass into the 
plank road the party passed cpiietly through the ranks 
of the Eighteenth North Carolina Regiment, then 
drawn iip in line of battle, extending to the north 
for some distance, and waiting for the signal of 
advance from General Lane. They passed so 
quietly through the Eighteenth Regiment that 
Major Barry, stationed on the left wing of the regi- 
ment, did not notice them, and was not informed of 
their passage. They continued slowly along the 
Mountain road toward the Thirty-third North Caro- 
lina Regiment, then drawn up in a strong skirmish 
line extending across the plank road into the forest, 



552 LIFE OF (;ENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

some distance north of it, and from twc) to throe 
hundred yards in front of the Eighteentli North 
Carolina Regiment. They passed on almost to the 
line of the Thirty-third North Carolina skirmishers 
and halted. Jackson listened for a moment to the 
sounds coming from the Federal lines — the ringing 
of the axes in building the fortifications, the words 
of command being distinctly audible — and then 
turned his horse in silence and slowly retraced his 
steps back to the place where the Mountain, Bullock 
and the Hunting roads or paths come together, and 
aboiit sixty to eighty yards from where the 
Eighteentli North Carolina Regiment was standing 
in the woods, and about sixty to seventy yards from 
where the monument now stands, on the plank road. 
Jackson then stopped and again turned his horse 
towards the Federal lines, and was apparently listen- 
ing to the sounds from the fi-ont, and ffir Lane's sig- 
nal for the advance. General A. P. Hill and his 
adjutant. Colonel W. H. Palmer, again joined him. 
The group of horsemen respectfully gathered 
together in his rear; all were standing still and in 
silence, when suddenly a single rifle shot rang out 
distinctly in the evening air, and at some distance 
south of the plank road. The fatal shot was that 
fired by the skirmisher of the Thirty-third North 
Carolina, at the call of General Kneip; it was 
instantl}' replied to, and as the firing rolled along 
the line of the skirmishers of both armies and was 
increased in volume by the volleys of the Sevent}'- 
third New York and a part of the Seventh North 
Carolina, both lines of battle became keenly on the 
alert. 



JACKSON MORTALLY WOUNDED. 553 

At this moment Colonel Purdie and the adju- 
tant of the Eighteenth North Carolina had gone 
forward on the plank road about two hundred 
yards, to consult with Colonel Avery, of the Thirty- 
third North Carolina, near the old Van AVert oaltin, 
about the approach of the enemy on the right flank 
and rear, and while enaraiced in this conversation 
the picket tiring broke out in their front. Purdie 
and his adjutant instantly turned and rushed with 
all their speed down the plank road toward.s their 
l>osition at the head of the Eighteenth North Caro- 
lina Regiment. The sounds of their footsteps 
startled the Confederate soldiers already aroused by 
the roar of musketry- in front, and as Major Barry, 
on the left of the Eighteenth, some distance in the 
woods, heard these sounds of rapid approach from 
tlie front and suddenly saw a group of strange 
horsemen moving about among the shadows of the 
trees eighty yards in his front and to his right, he 
instantly gave the order to fire and repeat the 
firing. 

The tire of the rifles of the North Carolina 
mountaineers was fearfully efi'ective, and every one 
of that group of horsemen went down or disap- 
peared before its fatal aim, except Jackson. The 
chieftain, although grievously wounded, kept his seat 
in the saddle, even when Old Sorrel, startled by the 
confusion around him, dashed across the path into 
an oak tree, whose branches nearly swept him to the 
ground, and then continued on towards the plank 
road, but finallj' stopped a few yards from the road, 
where some of the ofiicers who had escaped the 
destructive fire found him, and tenderly lifting him 



554 LIFE OF GENERAL THoMAS J. JACKSON. 

from the saddle laid the woanded chieftain under a 
pine tree. Soon after, General A. P. Hill came to his 
side and sent for aid, but as Jackson could walk, he 
was assisted to his feet and taken to the plank road 
and turned towards the Doudal House. As the 
party walked down the road the number was 
increased by the officers, who desired to ofter some 
assistance, and the enlarged group of men, both on 
liorse and on foot, attracted the notice of Captain 
Osborn, who had charge of the two Federal guns 
jdaced at the foot of the hill on picket, and about 
seven hundred or eight hundred yards distant. It 
was then bright moonlight, and objects could be 
seen a long distance on the broad road. Osborn at 
once opened Hre, and it was regarded by the batteries 
in the rear, at Fairview, as a signal that the enemy 
were advancing in force, and in a moment after half 
past nine forty-three guns in all were directing a ter- 
rific fire down the plank road. At this time the 
entire road below the Hazel Grove road was filled 
with battalions of Confederate artillery and troops 
marching up to take i)art in the advance movement. 
The Federal fire raked the road with fearful efi:ect, 
and Jackson's bearers were struck down twice, and 
it was in the midst of this tempest of bursting shell 
that Jackson delivered his last order to his army, 
and it was to General Pender, whose cohunn was 
being torn to pieces by the Federal shot and shell, 
"You must hold your ground, General I'ender."' 
The wounded general was at last conveyed in safety 
to the Doudal Tavern, and Stuart was sent for to 
take charge of the command. In the meantime 
General Lane, at the extreme right of his brigade, 



FEDERALS MADE PRISONERS. 555 

was anxiously awaiting the return of the scouting 
party sent into tlie forest on his flank. 

In a few moments Lieutenant Emack, with his 
four North Carolinian soldiers, returned with one 
hundred and fifty or more Federal soldiers of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania 
Regiment, who had become bewildered in the dark 
forest and yielded to the summons of the Confed- 
erate oflicer. As the party came up to the log works 
where General Lane was standing. Colonel Smith 
refused to submit to the surrender of his men, as a 
violation of the handkerchief of truce, and an 
earnest discussion arose over the question of right, 
when suddenly the artillery fire of tlie Federal bat- 
teries burst upon them, and to escape the tempest of 
destruction both Federals and Confederates instantly 
sprang over to the shady side of the log works and 
lay side by side in temporary brotherly love. But as 
soon as the Federal fire ceased General Lane ordered 
the Federal soldiers to be conducted to the rear as 
prisoners of war. Shortly after, General Pender 
went to General Lane, still in the forest, and informed 
him of the accident to General Jackson, and also of 
the wounding of General Hill by the Federal artil- 
lery fire, and advised General Lane not to advance. 

About ten p. M. General Lane withdrew his left 
wing from the north of the road, and prolonged his 
right, deflecting it to the Hazel Grove road, while 
Pender marched his brigade to take the place of 
Lane's left wing removed. All operations then 
ceased pending the arrival of General Stuart, who 
did not reach the field until nearly midnight. 

At the hour of nine p. m. .lackson must have felt 



•30(3 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

sure of success, for the field at the White House 
was about oue thousand yards distant, with only 
the feeble remnants of the beaten Eleventh Cori>s 
and a regiment of Barry's division to oppose him on 
the direct avenue of approach. It is in evidence 
that while Lane's strong brigade was to engage 
the attention of the enemy at Fairview, Jackson 
intended to slip up the Bullock road with Pender"s, 
McGowan's, Heth's and other brigades, which were 
then in readiness to nuxrch. And this explains wh}' 
Jackson and Hill were at the junction of the 
Bullock and Mountain roads instead of being on the 
plank road. The broad plank road was crowded for 
a long distance with battalions of Confederate 
artillery and their ammunition trains, all read}- to 
advance. Williams at this time had returned to 
strengthen the Federal position at Fairview with his 
division, but the most of Sickles's force was at or 
below Hazel Grove, and Barlow's stout brigade 
was far below and lost in the woods and darkness. 

When we consider the position of the Federal 
army at Chancellorsville at this moment, and how 
many important Ijattles have been won by trivial 
flank attacks, how Richepense, with a single brigade, 
ruined tlie Austrian army at Hohenlinden, and how 
the charge of a handful of horsemen under Keller- 
mann won the great battle at Marengo, etc., we must 
admit that the FedtM-al ai-my was in great peril 
when Jackson arrived within one thousand yards of 
its vital point, with more than twenty thousand men 
and a hundred cannon, and the only olistacle a hand- 
ful of beaten soldiers of the wrecked Eleventh Corps 
and a regiment of the Third. 



FEARFUL ERROR. 557 

The fatal shots came from the left wing of the 
Eighteenth North Carolina, and the whole brigade 
has been blended in the severe denunciations hurled 
upon them in this unfortunate aftair. When 
Mahone's brigade of V^irginians, in broad daylight, 
on the 6th of May, 1864, tired repeatedly into their 
own corps, killing General Jenkins and his aide, 
Doby, and wounding General Longstreet and many 
others, nothing was said about it. The mistake in 
daylight was more inexcusable than the error in 
the darkness of night. Major Barry ordered his 
men to fire, for he was not aware of any one passing 
in his front, excepting the pickets, and they were 
not mounted. Major Barry was an officer cool and 
brave, and neither Jackson, Hill nor Lane ever 
blamed him for his fearful error. As to the charge 
of being panic-stricken, there is no evidence of it to 
be deduced from the particulars ; on the contrary, 
there is much to be admired in the conduct of 
Lane's brigade on this unfortunate night. The 
entire brigade had been warned by its commander 
to be on the alert, keenly on the alert, as they were 
in front of the Federal army and without imme- 
diate support. The charge that there was no 
picket line established is comjiletely untrue, for the 
entire Thirty-third North Carolina Regiment was 
stretched across the plank road, above and below it, 
and far in advance of where Jackson stood when 
tired upon. This brigade faced the Federal front 
in line of battle, and although twice exposed to the 
fire of forty-three cannon, it never faltered or called 
for help until its flank and rear were threatened, 
about midnight. 



558 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACK80N. 

The history of this command under its dauntless 
leader throughout tlie war, ending at Appomattox, 
will always be admired and respected by tliosc who 
believe in American manhood. And the student 
wlio seeks to discover a higlier degree of courage 
and hardihood among the rnilitarv organizations of 
either army ^\■ill look over the true records of the 
war for a long time, if not in vain. 

It ma}- perhaps be said that the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville, with all its glory to the Southern arras, 
was a fatal day to the vitality of the Army of 
Northern Virginia. The gain in cannon, in prison- 
ers and in morale was great, it is true, but the loss 
of Jackson — the right arm of Lee — was irreparable, 
and the hosts of dauntless men who went down in 
the bloody struggle of that day the South could not 
replace. 

Jack.son's hold upon his followers was quite 
remarkable, and much of it was due to his military 
success, for nothing like victory gives rise to the 
strong attachment of our nature. "Silence is 
golden," says the old proverb, and Jackson was a 
good example, for he was as reticent as Von 
Moltke. Moreover, he seemed to take no one into 
his close confidence except General Lee ; not for 
want of faith in the men around him, but Vjecause it 
was a cardinal tenet with him that secrecy was one 
of the strongest military axioms. 

The smile of fortune had so often attended his 
daring and reckless movements that his followers 
obeyed his commands with implicit confidence. 
His earnest religious nature also had a marked 
eftect upon the disposition of his soldiers. Both 



CONSTANTLY ON THE OFFENSIVE. 559 

Jackson and Lee endeavored to impress upon the 
Southern soldier a sense of moral duty and a belief 
in Divine protection, and it certainly added hope, 
strength and steadiness to their efforts and their 
bearing, as it did to the followers of Cromwell, 
Gustavus and Marlborough. Generally, the North- 
ern soldier and the JS'orthern mind willingly accord 
to Jackson military qualities of the highest rank, 
and they will admit that lie had the intuitive genius 
of war, courage and endurance, qualities eminenth' 
reqiiisite m a soldier. 

It was Jackson's nature to be constantly on the 
oft'ensive, and he often supplied the deficienc}' of 
military strength by his skill and combination. 
Often the Federal soldier might have repeated to 
himself the remark of the Hungarian veteran con- 
cerning Napoleon in the Italian campaigns: "He 
knows nothing of the regular rules of war; he is 
sometimes on our front, sometimes on the flank, 
sometimes in the rear. There is no siip^iorting such 
gross violation of rules." 

Between Jackson and his illustrious commander. 
General Lee, there was much of that steady friend- 
ship, that sincere and mutual regard, that admirable 
adjustment and harmony, which threw an immortal 
lustre around the names and the actions of the great 
Marlborough and the Prince Eugene, leas than two 
centuries ago. 

As the mists of prejudice clear away and the true 
ideas of a national sentiment prevail, the wish to 
accord to the Southern soldier the full measure of 
his merits in the Civil War grows stronger with the 
Northern mind, and there is, moreover, a genuine 



560 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

desire to claim us uational treasure the fame of 
some of tlie soldiors who fought for secession. It is 
natural that such a generous feeling should arise 
and prosper, and it may come to pass in the not far 
distant future that an intelligent and enlightened 
nation will erect common monuments to some of the 
leaders of our great Civil War. A few j'ears ago the 
best of England's men erected a common monu- 
ment to the memory of the leaders of the em\ war 
which desolated England in the seventeenth century, 
and the poet laureate of England composed its noble 
inscription : 

" Art thou a patriot, traveler? On this field 

Did Falkland fall, the blameless and the brave, 

Beneath a tyrant's banner. I)(ist thou boast 

Of loyal ardor? Hampden perished here, 

The rebel Hampden, at whose glorious name 

The heart of every honest Englishman 

Beats high with conscious pride. Both uncorriipt. 

Friends to their common coiuitry both, they fouglit, 

They died in adverse armies. Traveler, 

If with thy neighbor thou shouldst not accord. 

In charity remember the=e good men. 

And quell all angi-y and ininrioiis thoughts." 



Late Lieutenant-Colonfl, U. S. A. 
Ba.vgor, Me., t>ct. 10th, 1805. 



5 ^ 

s m 

B f 

s i 

a 8 



ri 



TRIBUTE 

TO 

GENERAL JACKSOX. 

By Bkigabiek-General Basil Duke. 

(Commanded Morgan's Cavalry Foici't-.) 

Ant opinion I can ofler of General Jatksoirs mil- 
itary character and of the services he rendered in the 
field has been formed solely from a stud}- of reports 
of his campaigns and from conversations with those 
who were near him during his remarkable career, 
for I was not so fortunate as to know him person- 
ally or to serve under him at any time. It is with 
great diffidence that such an opinion is submitted. 
So much has been written about tlie military opera- 
tions in which he was so conspicuoiis and, in all 
that he personally undertook, so successful, that any 
contribution to such literature maj^ well appear 
superfluous, or even presumptuous, unless made by 
one able to mention something not heretofore con- 
sidered, or at least present in a new light and with 
the authority of a witness facts and incidents wliicli 
have been alreadj' often told. 

I can not, therefore, attempt anj- narration, much 
less anything in the nature of criticism, of matters 
^^^th which every reader of militar_y history is 
ikmiliar, but shall simply furnish that tribute due 
his genius and heroism which his every countryman 



A GREAT STRATEGIST. ' 563 

and comrade has the right to render, iu terms 
which, however trite they may seem, are cordial and 
sincere. 

General Jackson's fame as a strategist, great as it 
is, will perhaps increase as his campaigns are more 
closely studied and more perfectly understood from 
a comparison of the data furnished by those who 
participated in them on both sides. His expedition 
into the Shenandoah Valle}- in May, 1862 — which 
has been so frequently' and aptly compared to Napo- 
leon's first campaign in Italy — has rarely been 
equaled for boldness of initiative and celerity of 
movement, and for the accuracy with which the 
enem3''s situation at the moment of advance was 
surmised and his subsequent movemeuts anticipated. 
Calculating with marvelous precision where and 
when to strike, timing the swift movements of his 
little column with a skill as perfect as was the judg- 
ment with which he handled his detachments, he 
succeeded, with an army insignificant in numbers, in 
not only bafiiing but defeating and driving before 
him in confusion an immense host of the enemy, 
neutralizing all the forces under Fremont, Banks 
and Shields at a period vitally critical to the Con- 
federate cause. His march immediately afterward 
with his entire command from the Valley to Rich- 
mond, to take part in the battles with McClellan, 
was a fitting strategic conclusion to a prelude so 
brilliant. 

Scarcely less indicative of strategical ability were 
his movements just preceding the second battle of 
Manassas and those before the capture of Harper's 
Ferry, and no criticism will ever be thought extrava- 



564 LIFE UF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

gant which gives imqualilied commeiidatiou to both 
the conception and the execution of that masterly 
movement by which Hooker's right flank was 
turned and crushed at Chancellorsville. 

His reputation as a tactician will be little, if any, 
less than that of a strategist ; for while opportunity 
was never afforded him to demonstrate a capacity 
for handling large masses of men in the presence of 
the enemy, it would be difficult to cite the name of 
any general famous in modern warfare who could 
more perfectly utilize all tactical advantages with 
Bmall bodies of men, and supplement lack of num- 
bers by promptness, celerity and decision in ma- 
noeuvring. That he was entitled to full credit as a 
daring and stubborn fighter was incontestably dem- 
onstrated by his conduct in every battle wherein he 
was engaged, as either commander or subordinate. 
General Jackson certainly possessed in very marked 
degree the moral and intellectual qualities most 
essential to success in war. His energy seemed tire- 
less, his will always active and unyielding, and his 
capacity for prompt decision and adherence to the 
judgments he formed very remarkable. He had the 
faculty of acqiairing the implicit confidence of the 
men he led, and of inspiring them with extreme 
enthusiasm, while himself never losing any particle 
of self-control or the coolest and clearest under- 
standing of every situation. All great soldiers have 
had these characteristics. 

General Jackson had also that rare combination 
of caution and audacity in which each is fully effi- 
cient and neither unduly predominates. He never 
suffered himself to be attacked that the event did 



A GREAT COMMANDER. 565 

not show his ability to repulse the enemy — he never 
failed to deliver attack when, for any reason, his 
enemy was vulnerable ; and although constantly 
offering or receiving battle with forces so inferior 
numerically to those opposed to him, that, in this 
regard, to risk encounter seemed a reckless tempt- 
ing of fortune, it must be admitted that not only 
the result, but a fair criticism of all the conditions 
on which his action was predicated, in almost every 
instance, vindicated his judgment. Such were the 
qualities which made General Jackson a great com- 
mander. In addition to these, he possessed higher 
and rarer attributes — a clear and e.xalted conception 
of duty and firm, unselfish resolution to perform 
it, which reinforced the courage and skill of the 
soldier with the infiuence which grandeur of soul 
and the noblest patriotism could exert. 



^^^^^.^ 



JACKSOX, "THE HERO." 

By Major-Gexeral S. G. French. 

(GomDi»D<ied Departmeut uf Nurth Cari'lina and Southern Virginia.) 

. . . "Stonewall" Jackson was endowed with 
those great and harmoniously balanced powers of 
mind that nature occasionally bestows on one of her 
favorite children, and which when directed to the 
art of war gives to the world an organizer, strategist 
and tactician, and makes him master of all its details 
and manifold requirements. He possessed a mag- 
netic influence that gave to his soldiers an individu- 
ality that was returned by an abiding confidence in 
his judgment and ability. 

He was resolute, enduring, patient and reticent. 
His ambition — however vailed — was boundless, and 
his reliance on his own abilities as wonderful as his 
success. Instance his reply to the authorities, 
"Give me more men an<l fewer orders," and his 
remarks when the boy I'elham with one gun 
checked Burnside's advance at Fredericksburg — 
" Give me fifty thousand Pelhams and I will subju- 
gate the world." 

Although, with humility, he disclaimed them, his 
deeds were all his own. 

In his Valley campaign against Freemont and 
Shields his combinations, strategy and tactics were 
not unlike those of Napoleon atRivoli,whcn Alvinczy 
debouched from the Tyrol, by tlie Adige and the 
Brenta, with sixty tliousand men to relieve Wurm- 



HIS LAST BATTLE. 567 

eer whom Napoleon was besieging in Mantua. Like 
Bonaparte struck Quasdonovich at Rivoli, Jackson 
struck Fremont at Cross Keys, just hard enough to 
paralyze him ; then, leaving a small force in his 
front, he withdrew Ewell and quickly crossed the 
Shenandoah at Port Republic and routed Shields; 
thus preventing their junction, although in sight 
of each other. He defeated each in quick succession. 

But it was at Chancelloi'sville, Avhere he fought 
his last battle, that the star of his destiny shone 
resplendent in glory, and there he showed himself 
the great captain. 

Sent by Lee (whose tactics in this battle for 
audacity is unparalleled) with his three divisions to 
attack the enemy on his left and rear, he sped to his 
object, like an arrow to the mark, from which 
nothing could divert him. 

Told, when riding at the head of his troops, 
that the enemy had attacked the rear train, he said, 
" Tell the rear guard to whip them off." Again a 
courier came and announced some of his wagons 
captured ; moving on, he asked, " Did they get any 
of the ordnance wagons?" "No." "Ah! tell the 
guard not to lose any ammunition wagons," and on 
he pressed to the mark; and therein he showed the 
great captain that he was. It was six p. M. before 
the line of battle was formed. But when it moved — 

" Roncesvalles! Roncesvalles ! ! saw men ever such a sight ! " 

Like the tidal wave of the monsoon the tide of 
battle rolled on, overthrowing everything before it 
till lost in darkness, shaking the Chancellor mansion, 
where the Federal commander had his headquarters, 
to its foundation. 



668 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Returning from the trout of the euemy, crowned 
by victory, filled with hope for the morrow, in the 
meridian of his fame, this great man fell — fell by the 
fire of his own men who loved him but too well! 
Providence denied the enemy to make the sacrificial 
oftering that was that day required to be made as 
the price of victory. And so his spirit, on invisible 
wings, sailed over the river to Valhalla; and if it be 
that kindred souls attract each other in that vale, 
then the shades of Havelock, " Stonewall " Jack- 
son and " Chinese " Gordon rest under a tree 
alone — ^the three great Christian heroes of the age. 

Winter Park, Fla., September 24, 1895. 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS 



GENERAL JACKSON. 

Bt Major-Oeneral Lafayette McLaws. 

(Commanded Division Army of Northern Yirginiu.) 

We had realized, at the corameucement of the 
war, that General Jacksou's very brilliant aud daring 
achievements in the Valley of Virginia, during the 
period when the combination of United States 
armies, under direction of General McClellan, was 
culminating against Richmond, resulted in such a 
menace to the Federal capital, Washington, that the 
advance of the forces under General McDowell ou 
our left was withdrawn in order to protect that 
capital from Jackson's forces, thus ^elie^^ng the 
Confederate army, under General J. E. Johnston, of 
very embarrassing conditions. 

Although at that time he was personally unknown 
to most of us, the conclusions of all who read the 
details of that campaign were that General Jackson 
was a man, calm, cool, with a mind serious and con- 
centrated and adventurous, bringing the most prac- 
tical ideas to bear on the most daring undertakings, 
a man of few words but essentiallj' one of action. 
Give him his orders and his impulse was to obey, 
and in the execution he halted not for precise 
instructions, nor made excuses for non-action by 
asking for more men, but dared everything and 



570 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

made his assaults regardless of the superiority ot 
the force opposed to him. 

If he had been at Gettysburg ou the evening of 
July Ist, when the enemy were in full retreat and in 
confusion upon the hill and ridge on which the 
battles of the 2d of July occurred, there would have 
been no delay in the onward march of his then 
victorious troops ; he woiild not have hesitated, when 
he saw the chance of success offered by tlie evident 
confusion of the retreating foe, but have gone fur- 
ward, with his characteristic dash and daring, and 
those important positions would doubtless have 
been ours, and the battle of Gettysburg of the 3d 
would not have occurred. This was the reputation 
he had made for himself, to last forever. 

I met him for the first time, and had conversatioji 
with him, after the surrender of Harper's Ferry. I 
was on the Maryland side of the Potomac with my 
command, a portion upon Maryland Heights, which 
had been captured by them, and the rest in other 
positions, offering battle to the forces under General 
Franklin. When my aide-de-camp, returning to 
me after carrying a message to General Jackson 
then in Harper's Ferry, informed me that General 
Jackson wished to see me, I turned over the com- 
mand temporarily to General R. H. Anderson, and, 
crossing the l>ridge over the Potomac, rejiorted to 
him. But few words passed between us. He in- 
formed me that be intended to move with a part of 
his command to Sharpsburg that evening, but gave 
me no special instructions as to my movements. 
The captured garrison was being sent across the 
river upon the only bridge, the pontoon one jnst 



DESTITUTE TROOPS. 571 

mentioned, and were marehod along the river bank 
and along tlie front of my troops, and, passing around 
the ridge on the left or east of the Valley, through 
"Weverton Pass at its foot, were free to go wher- 
ever they wished; and as Franklin's corps and com- 
mand of Federal troops were but a few miles 
distant above, information as to the status of my 
force was doubtless communicated to him ; so that 
my force was hold in line ready to resist any attack 
that might be made upon it. 

I thus waited until the way Avas clear, and was 
therefore unable to cross to tlie Maryland shore 
until the next day about eleven or twelve a. m. 

Many of my men were without shoes and the 
entire command without provisions, and liad been 
so for several days, except such as could be obtained 
by spasmodic etibrts of individuals and regimental 
officials; all that had been captured in Harper's 
Ferry had been otherwise disposed of. I made 
strenuous efforts to get something, but with very 
little results. My destitute troops nevertheless went 
forward cheerfully towards Sharpsburg and, cross- 
ing the Potomac before daylight, were halted near 
Sharpsburg, by special order of General Lee given 
to myself in person, within one-quarter of a mile 
from the headquarters of General Lee who at the 
same time directed me to rest my men and to obey 
no orders except such as came direct from himself — 
this before sunrise on that day. 

So soon as halted, I myself, who had not slept for 
three nights, and nearly all of my command, wdiich 
had been marching all night, went to sleep in the 
liigli grass alongside of the road. 



572 LIKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

About nine o'clock, as I judged by the sun, I was 
awakened by a stall" officer and told that my division 
was wanted, and had been formed and was march- 
ing to the front, as I could not be found at the time, 
l)eing concealed by the high grass in which I slept. 
Mounting my horse, which had been grazing close 
by, I was soon at the head of jny men: and being 
met by a staif officer of General Jackson and one of 
General D. H. Hill, the direction in which I was to 
attack was pointed out. At the pro[)er time my 
line was formed to make it. General Jackson came 
to me then and directed that I send one brigade to 
the support of Early, which was done at once, and 
as our men, of whose command I do not know, 
were seen retiring in my immediate front, my force 
(three brigades) was ordered forward rapidl}-, and 
moving in order, in splendid style met the advance 
of the conquering enemy and drove them back in 
confusion. 

When the lines were reformed along the crest 
of the small elevation, which had been won from 
the enemy, a tremendous cannonade, hurling shot 
and shell and grape and canister at us from a very 
short range, was then going on. The enemy, having 
failed in the direct charge to drive our troops, were 
attempting to make ns give way by this means. 
General Jackson then came to where I was sitting 
on my horse, and we stood, he also on horseback, 
facing each other; and although from our stand- 
point we could not see the batteries of the enemy, 
yet it seemed as if our position was known to them, 
for while there ten or more shells were burst over 
our heads, and the sound of the shrapnel shot 



GRAPE SHOT AND SHELLS. 573 

could be heard as it crashed througli the branches 
of a tree not over five steps beyond us. One shell 
passed between General Jackson and myself, and 
one struck a courier and, I think, broke his leg, not 
ten feet from us, and fell between our horses. Gen- 
eral Jackson looked at it and so did I, but it did 
not explode. General Jackson then remarked, " The 
enemy, it seems, are getting our range," and rode 
away, much to my gratification. 

He remarked two or three times when with me 
that " God had been very kind to us to-da}-,"' and 
directed me to " press the enemy on the left ! " But 
as my division was about the center of the line and 
the enemy were in force directly in my front, not 
over a quarter of a mile distant, and my command 
in a half starved and exhausted condition, having 
already lost forty per cent in killed, wounded and 
missing, I had no force with which to do anything 
but watch and guard my own front, especially as 
the enemy continued their terrific and concentrated 
fire from their batteries upon it — the grape shot 
and shells cutting down limbs of trees which fell 
among my men, and the fragments of the shells and 
the shrapnel injuring manj- who were Ij'ing down 
or sheltering themselves as they best could while 
waiting for the charge which this concentrated 
fii'e led me to expect would come every moment. 

As our lines did not give way, the cannonade 
gradually ceased and both sides in my front became 
quiet. During this. General Jackson sent me word, 
or came himself, requesting me to make a recon- 
noissance on the left. General J. E. B. Stuart was 
near me at the time, and at my request he rode with 



574 LIFE OF (iEKEKAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

me, passing through Jacksoir s comniand on to the 
left, where wc ascended a little hill from which 
we saw a batteiy of eight to sixteen guns, not over 
six hundred ^ards awa^', having a large nund)er of 
men aboard it ; l)ut before we could make a more 
minute inspection with our glasses, the battery 
opened fire upon us, firing a numVier of guns at 
once, the shells going a little beyond us. We 
retired precipitately without further examination, 
it seeming to me that this action by the enemy 
evidenced an apprehension on their part that we 
were reconnoitring to attack them, rather than 
that the}- were prejiaring to attack us on our left, 
and I so reported. Whatever fighting of conse- 
quence tbjit took place aftei' this was done elsewhere 
than in m^- front, and we renuiined cpiiet in position. 

From the opportunities I had to form a concep- 
tion of the character of General Jackson I was 
convinced that be deserved all of tlie great confi- 
dence in which he was held by General Lee, and 
that was a high honor for any one. There Avas no 
other such character in our arn)y, for in addition to 
the qualities I have stated, in which he stood pre- 
eminent, he had a sublime fiiith in the justness 
of our cause, and often acted as if be was, on special 
and desperate occasions, asking God's aid for suc- 
cess; and as he was so often successful, even in the 
most desperate enterprises, the impression prevailed 
that he was favored b}' the Almighty, and this added 
confidence to the brave hearts under him, giving 
additional dash and determination in their charge. 

He had close to his heart the very essence of our 
cause, as stated by President Davis, believing and 



RIUHT6 OF OUR SIRES. 575 

feeliug that he was lightiiig fur '-the rights of our 
sires, won in tlie War of the Revolution, the State 
sovereignty, freedom and independence, which were 
left to us as an inheritance for their posterity for- 
ever," and no man could have done more to main- 
tain them. 



Major-General C. S. A, 



v/ 



GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON. 

By Major-General Henbt Heth. 

(Comnmuded Divieiou under Geueral jHckson at Uattle of Chaucelloreville.) 

I WAS three years at West Point with Geueral 
Stonewall Jackson ; he was graduated in the class 
of 1846, I in the class of 1847. We never met 
when officers of the United States Army. It was 
my fortune to have heeu in but one battle with 
General Jackson ; that battle was his last, the battle 
f Chancellorsville. 

I consider General Stonewall Jackson the most 
extraordinary man as a soldier that I ever met. It 
appeared to me, and I can find but one word to 
express my idea, that on the battle-field he was an 
inspired man. To appreciate General Jackson's 
wonderful al)ility as a soldier he must have been 
seen on the field of battle. Quick as lightning to 
take in the situation confronting him. he knew 
exactly when, where and how to strike, and when 
he did strike he was as irresistible as a tornado — he 
swept all before him. Never excited, lie was as cool 
under fire as he would have been if attending to his 
devotions in his church. Had he been spared to the 
Confederacy during the years of 1863, '64 and '65, 
it is my belief that matters would have resulted dif- 
ferently. 



FIRST SIGHT OF -TACKSOX. 

Bv Bkiuadikk-Gknkral Samuki. (i. AIiGowan. 

(_Ooniiiiaii'ling Brigade umlfr (letifral .Iiti-kBdn.) 

... I REMEMBER the Occasion on wliieh I first saw 
General Jackson — on the eve of the liattle of Mana.s- 
sas ('Tuly 21st, 1861). The Federals wei'e encamped 
at or near Centreville, on the north side of Bull Run. 
The Confederates occupied the south side and 
guarded the fords of that stream from the Stone 
Bridge to the Union Mills — a distance of eight miles. 
They had reason to believe that tlie impending- 
struggle would be forced on their right, and had 
made arrangements accordingly. But some short 
time after midnight, before the battle, it was 
reported to General Bonliam, who guarded the 
approaches to Mitrhell's Ford, tliat the Federals 
were moving in large force towards the Stone 
Bridge — that is to say, to our left instead of to our 
right, as had been expected. After taking the pre- 
caution to verity the report. General Bonham de- 
spatched one of his staff officers (who happened to 
be myself) to gallop down to Manassas Junction 
and report this information to General Beauregard. 
That was done, and he (Beauregard) ordered me to 
find General Jackson, who, as understood, had just 
arrived from the Valley, and was somewhere near 
McLean's Ford, and to direct him, in the name of 
Beauregard, to move at once with his command to 
37 



1^ 



578 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the Lewis House, in the neighhorhood of tlio Stone 
Bridge. By inquiring, the bivouac of General Jack- 
sou was found in a chimp of pines, the general 
himself being already up, by a little blaze of tire, 
before the gray dawn of that eventful day ! After 
explanations as to authority and the urgency of the 
case the order of General Beauregard was given to 
Jackson, who, with tlie promptness and energy 
which were his distinguishing characteristics, put 
his troops on the march, and with his usual celerity 
traversed the whole distance from the right to the 
left of our lines, where he arrived just in time to 
arrest the further j^i'ogress of the Federal turning 
column, then elated with the prospect of certain 
success, and 'to contribute his full share to the 
achievement of a great victory and, at the same 
time, to win for himself that immortal name — better 
than a title of nobility — proclaimed in the very 
crisis of the battle by the gallant Bee, borne down 
by ov.erwlielming numbers, " There stands Jackson 
like a stoue wall ! " . . . 



./' 



^-U. 



STONEWALL JACKSON'S PLACE IK 
HISTORY. 

By Colonel G. F. R. Henderson. 

(Professor in the British Staff College, Caiuberly, Surrey, England.) 

The echoes of the Civil War have not yet died 
away. The survivors of the great coniiict still keep 
its memories green; and we are still privileged to 
hear, from the lips of those who shared in them, the 
conversations around the fire of the bivouac, and to 
learn the opinions of the rank and file on the 
subjects in which the soldier takes special interest. 
Foremost among the most absorbing topics of the 
camp was, undoubtedly, the character of the dif- 
ferent generals, whether friend or foe. When one 
man holds in his hand the lives of thousands, when 
one word means victory or defeat, the minds of those 
thousands, even hardened as they may be, must 
scan with something luore than curiositj* the indi- 
vidual who rules their fate. The soldier in the 
ranks tests his commander from two points of view: 
first, from his achievements, second, from his person- 
ality; and than the men who carry the musket there 
are no shrewder judges. They ma}^ be ignorant of 
the scope of the campaign, of the purpose of the 
manoeuvres, but they have much to do with their 
execution. Better than all the historians, better 
than the higher leaders, they appreciate the diffi- 
culties which attend the operations. In their own 



580 LIFK OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

limbs they liave realized the length uiid labor of the 
marches; with their own eyes they have seen the 
strength of the enemy's positions and the numbers 
that manned them ; and their intelligence, rate their 
military knowledge as you will, is more than suf- 
ficient to enable them to recognize a hazardous 
situation, and to appreciate the exact measure of 
ability which was brought to bear upon it. They 
know — and none better — whether the orders of the 
general were decided and to the point, whether the 
opportunity was utilized, whether the attack was 
pressed with resolution, or defence maintained to 
the utmost limit of endurance. They judge bv 
results. The}- have seen the enemy driven in panic 
flight by inferior nundjers, his detachments sur- 
prised, and his masses outmanoeuvred; and though 
the victories thus won may have been relatively 
unimportant, the strength of the opposing forces 
insignificant, the lists of casualties and jirisoners 
comparatively small, yet the soldiers are not deceived. 
The world at large recks little of minor engage- 
ments, and is much too apt to measure military 
capacity by the "butcher's bills;" but the instinct 
of the soldier tells him, and tells him truly, that 
genius of the highest order may display itself in the 
defeat often thousand men as clearly as in the defeat 
of ten times that nund>er. When he finds that 
genius he resigns his individuality, and ab.solute 
trust takes the place of speculation. The general in 
whose soldierly abilities his veterans have implicit 
confidence, no matter what the scale of his victo- 
ries, is, without doubt, a leader of men ; for tbat 
confidence is not easily given, it is only to be won 



" WAR IXTO AFRICA. "' 581 

Oil the perilous edge of many Inittk-s, aiul it is only 
accorded to cousuniniate skill. 

Amongst the echoes of the Civil War there is 
none of clearer tone than the soldier's estimate of 
Stonewall Jackson. It never fell to Jackson's lot 
to lead a great army or to plan the strategy of a 
great campaign. The operations in the Valley, al- 
though far-reaching in their results, were insignifi- 
cant both in respect of the nunihers employed and 
of the extent of their theatre. Xor was Jackson 
wholly independent. His was hut a secondary role, 
and throughout the campaign he had to weigh at 
every turn the instructions or suggestions of his 
superior otRcers. His hand wa.s never absolutely 
free. His authority did not reach beyond certain 
limits, and his operations were confined to one 
locality. He was never pernutted to " carry the 
war into Africa. '" Nor when he joined Lee at 
Richmond was the restraint removed. In the 
campaign against Pope, and in the march into 
Maryland, he was certainly intrusted with task.s 
which led to a complete severance from the main , 
arm}' ; but that severance was merely temporar}-. j 
He was the most trusted of Lee's lieutenants, but / 
he was only a lieutenant after all. He had never / 
the same libert}- of action as Johnston, or Bragg, or 
Hood ; and consequently he had never a real oppor- 
tunity for revealing the height and breadth of hi*' 
military genius. What would have been the issue 
of the war if Jackson had been placed in command 
of the Western armies of the Confederacy, whilst Lee 
held fast in Virginia, must remain a matter of spec- 
ulation. One thing is absolutely certain, Lee would 



582 LIFE OF GEXKRAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

never have been able to replace him. As a subor- 
tlinate lie was incomparable. " General Lee, " he 
said, " is a phenomenon, I would follow him blind- 
fold, " applying, with his wonderful insight into 
character, exactly the same words that his own men 
had come to apply to himself. 

It seems that Lee was slower to learn his com- 
rade's worth. Even the Valley campaign, with its 
long roll of victories, did not at once eidighten him. 
After Sharpsburg, perhaps with the memory of 
Jackson's untoward delay on June 27th and again 
at Frayser's farm on the 29th still fresh in his 
memory, he writes : "My opinion of the merits of 
General Jackson has been greatly enhanced dur- 
ing this expedition. lie is true, honest and brave, 
has an eye single to the good of the service, and 
spares no exertion to accomplish liis object. " How 
dift'erent and how significant was his generous crj', 
not ten months later, when the glories of Chancel- 
lorsville were obscured by Jackson's wound : 
"Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, 
for the good of the countr}-, to have been disabled 
in your stead. "' Yet even after the " Seven Days " 
to Jackson was committed every enterprise that 
necessitated a detachment from the army. It was 
Jackson, with plenary powers, who was sent to 
check Pope's advance on Gordonsville, to cut his 
communications at Bristoe Station, to capture Har- 
per's Ferry, to hold the "Vallej^ when McClellan 
advanced after Antietam, and to fall on Hooker's 
flank at Chancellorsville. The records of the war 
show abundantly, in the letters which passed be- 
tween them, how the confidence of the commander- 



Wlhh OF IRON. 583 

ill-chief ill his isubordinate increased, until, when 
the uews of Hooker's advance on Chancellorsville 
was reported, Lee conhl sa}' to one of Jackson's aides- 
de-camp : " Tell your good general that I am sure 
he knows what to do. " ^N'evertheless, the fact that 
Jackson never held an independent command, and, 
more than this, his very excellence as a subordinate, 
have served to diminish his reputation. Swinton,the 
accomplished historian, speaks of him as follows : 
"Jackson was essentially an executive officer, and 
in that sphere he was incomparable, lint he was 
devoid of high mental parts, and destitute of that 
power of planning a combination and of tliat calm, 
broad militarj- intelligence which distinguished 
General Lee." And Swinton's verdict has been very 
generally accepted. Because Jackson knew so well 
how to obey, it is assumed that he was not well 
fitted for indef)endent command. Because he could 
carrj' out orders to the letter, it is implied that he 
was no master of strategy. Because his will was of 
iron, and that his purpose, once fixed, never wavered 
for a moment, we are asked to believe that his 
mental scope was narrow. Because he was silent in 
council, not eager in pressing his ideas, and averse 
to argument, it is implied that his opinions on mat- 
ters of great moment were hardly worth hearing. 
Because his simplicity and honesty were so trans- 
parent, because he betrayed neither in face nor 
bearing any unusual power or consciousness of 
power, it is hastily concluded that he was deficient 
in the imagination, the breadth and the penetration 
which are the distinguishing characteristics of great 
generals. 



584 LIKE (IK GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Yet look at tlif jiiirtiaits of Jack^;t)ii, and ask it" 
the following <le8cTi}ptioa is not exactly apjilK-able V 
" Strongtli is tlio most striking attribute of the coun- 
tenance, displayed alike in the broad forehead, the 
masculine nose, the firm lips, the heavy jaw and wide 
chin. The look is grave and stern almost to grim- 
ness. There is neither weakness nor failure liere. 
It is the image of the strong fortress, of a strong 
soul buttressed on conscience and impregnable will." 
And the face limned here with such power of pen is 
not the face of a great conqueror or a great ruler, of 
a Cromwell or a Wellington, but of Dante. The 
truth is that his quiet demeanor concealed not only 
a vivid imagination, Imtan almost romantic enthusi- 
asm for all that was great or pure or true. Nor was 
Swinton's verdict the verdict of the soldiers of the 
Civil War. It was not the verdict of Lee — witness 
his letter already quoted. It was not the verdict ot 
the Southern iieoi)le and it was not the verdict ot 
their foes. It can hardly be questioned, I think, by 
those fatniliar with the records of the war, with 
the ciiliemeral literature of the time, with the letters 

iand l)iographies of the actors, that, at the time of 
his death, Jackson was the leader most trusted by 
the Confederates and most dreaded b}' the Federals. 
Lee was his only rival, l>ut I much doubt whetlier 
at the date of Chanccllorsville the news of Lee's 
death would have been received with so much regret 
in Ricliniond, or with as much relief at Washington, 
as was Stonewall Jackson's. Nevertheless, the 
instinct of the soldiers is hardly sufficient evidence 
on which to claim for Jackson a place amongst tlie 
most famous g'enerals: and for the reason that liis 



MILITARY CAREER. 585 

theatre of action was limited, it is difticult to assign 
the rank which he ought to hold. Tlie rank, liow- 
ever, which, had his power been unfettered as that 
wielded b^' Lee or Grant, he could in all probability 
have attained may be inferred from his achievements 
in a suliordinate capacity. ^Moreover, Jackson was 
not always inarticulate. To his intimates he con- 
fided his own views on the conduct of the war. 
His active brain, even wliilst lie was no more tlian a 
brigadier, not only anticipated in wliat nuinner vic- 
tories might be best improved, but, maintaining a 
comprehensive grasp of the whole theatre of events, 
determined by what means the ultimate triumph of 
the Confederacy might be secuivd. These thoughts 
took shape in definite proposals. And although 
tliey were never, I believe, brouglit to the notice of 
the supreme autliorities, and whilst it is true that it ia 
much simpler to plan than to execute, raucli easier 
to advise than to bear responsibility, these px-oposals 
at least reveal the breadth of Jackson's mind, his 
quick perception of tlie capital object which should 
have been lield in view by the Confederates, and of 
the weak joint in the Northern harness. To these, 
as I pass in review the chief events of Jackson's 
military career, I may be permitted to refer. 

The first year of the war gave the Lexington pro- 
fessor but small opportunity. All he was intrusted 
with he did well, and his tactical ability was cor- 
dially recognized by his superiors. Falling Waters, 
his first essay in arms before the enemy, was an 
insignificant affair. At Bull Run his brigade dis- 
played a conspicuous part. The quick perception 
of the advantages of the position on the easterii rim 



586 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON". 

oftlie Henrv Ilill had much to do witli the Confed- 
erate viftorv. Had the brigade lieen pushed for- 
ward to the western rim, it would liave heeu 
exposed to the full force of the powerful Federal 
artillery ; as it was, placed on the further edge 
of the plateau, it secured a certain amount of cover, 
and rendered the attempt of the Northern batteries 
to establish themselves on the plateau a disastrous 
failure. Again, although it is hardly alluded to in 
the official reports, there can lie little doubt, at least 
in the minds of those who liave seen the ground 
and read the narratives, but that the well-timed 
charge of the Stonewall Brigade was decisive of the 
issue. Nor can I omit to mention the ready initia- 
tive with which the Stonewall Brigade, ordered u]) 
to support the troo]is at the Stone Bridge, Avas 
diverted on the march towards the heavy cannonade 
on the left flank, -or the determined bearing which 
inspired his defeated colleagues with renewed confi- 
dence. If two opinions exist as to the effect of 
Ja«'kson'8 charge there can be no question that, but 
for his ready intervention and skilful choice of a 
position, tlie key-point of the battle-iield would have 
been lost to the Confederates. AVhy the Southern 
generals did not follow u\> their success is a question 
round which controversy has raged for many a 
y<ear. The disorganization of the victorious volun- 
teers, the difficulties of a direct attack on Washing- 
ton, deficiencies of supply and transport, Jiave all 
been pressed into service as excuses. "Give me ten 
thousand fresh troojis," said Jackson, as the surgeon 
dressed his wounds after the liattle, "and I would be 
in "Washington -to-morrow."' Within twenty-four 



AFTER BULL RUN. 587 

hours the ten thousaiul liad arrived. There were 
supplies, too, along the railway in the rear, and if 
means for their distribution and carriage were want- 
ing, the counties adjoining the Potomac were rich 
and fertile. It was not a long supply train that was 
wanting, not a trained staft', nor well-disciplined 
battalions, but a general who grasped the full mean- 
ing of victory, who understood how a defeated army, 
more especially one of raw troojis, ^-iclds at a touch, 
who knew "that war must support war," and who, 
above all, realized the necessity of giving tiie North 
>o leisure to develop her immense resources. That 
Jackson was such a general may l)e inferred from 
his after career. His daring judgment never failed 
to discern the strategical requirements of a situa- 
tion, and no obstacle ever deterred him from aiming 
at the true objective. Whilst in camp after Bull 
Run he said nothing. Afterwards, to his intimates, 
he condemned the inaction of his superiors with 
unusual warmth and emphasis. Of the accuracy of 
liis insight the letters of G-eneral McClellan, hurried 
from West Virginia to command at Washington, are 
the best evidence. On July 26th, the fifth day after 

/ 



the battle, McClellan " found no preparations for 



defence. All was chaos. . . . There was nothing to 
prevent a small force of cavalry riding into the 
city. ... If the Secessionists attached any value to 
Washington, they committed their greatest error in / 
not following up the victory of Bull Run." | 

Jackson's removal in the late autumn to the) 
Shenandoah Vallej' was unmarked for some month* 
by any striking incident. The Romney expedition 
did little more than frighten the Federals and reveal 



588 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

the defects of the raw Cout'ederate soldiers. But 
during this time Jackson's brain Avas alive to more 
momentous questions than the retention of a few 
counties. The importance of the northwestern 
districts of Virginia as a recruiting ground, the 
necessity of an active offensive on the part of the 
Confederate government, of anticipating the vast 
jireparations of the Xorth,and of bringing the hor- 
rors of war liome to the citizens of the United 
States — such questions constantly occupied bis mind. 
But the 3'oiing brigadier had no voice in the coun- 
cils of the South. At the end of February begai 
that series of operations which are combined unde* 
the title of " The Valley Campaign ; " and this cam- 
paign, on which Jackson's fame as a master of 
strategy chieflj' rests, was tlie most brilliant exhibi- 
tion of generalship throughout the war. As regards 
this canjpaign, however, a certain amount of mis- 
conception exists. Its success is not to be attributed 
wholly and solely to Jackson. It was due to John- 
ston that Jackson was retained in the Vallej" when 
McClellan moved to the Peninsula, and his, too, 
was the fundamental idea of the camjiaign, that the 
Federals should be retained in the Valley. It was 
Lee who at tiie end of April urged Jackson to 
strike a blow at Banks, reinforcing the Armvof the 
Valley with Ewell's division for that purjiose. It 
was Lee who saw the diversion that might be 
eftected if Jackson threatened Washington, and it 
was Lee who exactly at the rigiit moment ordered 
the Valle}- troops to Richmond. But it was none 
the less true that Jackson realized the situation just 
as (learlv as Lee or Johnston. He saw from tlie 



LEFT TO JACKSON. 589 

very lirst the weak point iu MeClellan's plau of 
campaign, and the probable eft'ect of a threat against 
Washington. Wlien Lee nrged him to strike Banks 
at Harrisonburg he was already looking for an 
opportunity. When Ewcli arrived it was in re- 
sponse to his own request for reinforeements, and it 
ma}' be remembered that Lee made no suggestion 
whatever as to the manner in which his ideas were 
to be carried out. Everything was left to Jackson. 
The swift manoeuvres, which surprised in succession 
his various enemies, emanated from him alone. It 
was his brain that conceived the march by way of 
Mechum's River Station to McDowell, the march 
that surprised Fremont and bewildered Banks. It 
was his brain that conceived the sudden transfer of 
the Vallej' army from one side of Massanutton to 
the other, the march that surprised Kenly and drove 
Banks in confusion across the Potomac. It was his 
brain that worked out the design of threatening 
Washington M'ith such extraordinary results. To 
him, and to him only, was due the dovible victory 
of Cross Keys and Port Republic. If Lee's strategy 
was brilliant, that displayed by Jackson on the 
minor theatre of war was no less masterly. 

In March, 1862, 200,000 Federals were prepared 
to invade Virginia. McClellan, before McDowell 
was withheld, reckoned on placing 150,000 men at 
West Point; there were 20,000 in West Virginia, 
and Banks had 30,000 in the Valley. At no time 
did the army opposed to them exceed 80,000, yet at 
the end of June where are the "big battalions?" 
One hundred thousand men are retreating to their 
ships on the .Tames. But where are the rest? 



590 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Where are the 40,000 men that should have rein- 
forced McClellan 'i How comes it that the columns 
of Fremont and Banks are no farther south than 
they were in March; that the Shenandoah Valley 
still pours its produce into Richmond ; that Mc- 
Dowell has not yet crossed the Rappahannock ? 
What mysterious power has compelled Lincoln to 
retain a force larger than the whole Confederate 
arm}- "to protect the national caiiital from danger?" 
Let Kernstown and McDowell, Winchester, Cross 
Keys and Fort Republic speak. The bi-aius of two 
great leaders had done more for the Confederacy 
than 200,000 soldiers had done for the L'uiou. 
Without quitting his desk, and leaving the execu- 
tion of his plans to Jackson, Lee had relieved Rich- 
mond of 100,000 Federals. Jackson, with a force 
of never more than 17,000, had neutralized and 
demoralized this enormous force, and, finally join- 
ing the main army, had aided Lee to drive the 
remaining 100,000 awav from Richmond. 

Nor was this result due to hard fighting alone. 
The Valley campaign lost the Federals no more than 
seven thousand men, and, with the exception of 
Cross Keys, the battles were well contested. It was 
not due to inferior leading on the battle-field, for at 
Kernstown, McDowell, Winchester and Port Repub- 
lic the Federal troops were undeniably well handled. 
Nor was it due to the want of will on the part of 
the Northern government. It was simply due to the 
splendid strategy of Lee and Jackson. Jackson's 
long and rapid marches were doubtless a factor of 
much importance; but more important still was the 
skill that enabled him to effect surprise after sur- 




"STIlNEWALL" .lAIKSdN IIRIGADK I'LANTING TIIKII! GINS. 



AS A STRATEGIST. 591 

prise, to use the mouutaiua to screen his movements, 
iuul on every single .battle-field, except Kernstown 
aii<l Cross Keys, despite the overwhelming superior- 
ity of his oi)ponent on the whole theatre, to concen- 
trate a force greater than that immediately opposed 
to him. "As a strategist," says Dabney, "the first 
Napoleon was undoubtedly Jackson's model. He 
had studied his campaigns diligently, and he was 
accustomed to remark with enthusiasm on the evi- 
dences of his genius." "Ifapoleon," he said, "was 
tlie first to show what an army could be made to 
accomplish. He had shown what was the value of 
time as a strategic comliination, and that good 
troops, if well cared for, could be made to march 
twentj'-five miles daily and win battles besides." 
And he had remarked more than this. " We must 
make this campaign," he said at the beginning of 
18(3.3, " an exceedingly active one. Only thus can a 
weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make 
up in activity what it lacks in strength. A defeno 
sive campaign can only be made successful by tak- 
ing the aggressive at the proper time. N"apoleon 
never waited for his adversary to become fully pre- 
pared, but struck him the first blow." It would be 
perhaps diflScnlt in the writings of Napoleon him- 
self to find a passage which embodies his concep- 
tion of war in terms as definite as these, but no 
words could convex' it more clearly. It is such 
strategy as this that " gains the aid of States and 
makes men heroes." Napoleon did not discover it. 
Every single general who deserves to be entitled 
great has used it. It was on the lines here laid 
ilown that Lee and Jackson acted. Lee, in compel- 



592 LIFE (IF (iENERAL THOMAS .r. .rACKSOI!. 

ling the Fedomls to kvc^i their <o]mniis separated, 
laanoeuvred witli a skill wliich ]i:i.s si'ldoin Iteeii sur- 
passed. Jackson, falling as it Avere from the skies 
into the midst of his astonished foes, struek right 
and left Avith extraordimirv swiftness, and with 
seventeen thousand men paralyzed, practically 
speaking, the wliole Federal host. It is when 
regarded in connection with the operations of the 
main armies that the Vahey campaign stands out in 
its true colors; hut at the same time, as an isolated 
incident, it is a campaign than whicli few can show 
more extraordinary results. It has been compared, 
and not inaptly, with the Italian camjiaign of 17!'(); 
in some of its features it resembles that of 1814; 
and in the secrecy of movement, celerity of nnircli, 
the skilful use of topographical features, in the 
concentration of inferior force at the critical point, 
it bears strong traces of the Napoleonic uiethods. 
Above all, it reveals a most perfect appreciation of 
the best means of dealing with superior numbers. 
The emperor could hardly have applied his own 
principles with more decisive efiect. 

Moreover, like that of 1796, the Valley camjiaign 
was carried tlirough by :in officer who h:id but scant 
expei'ience of couimand. Like Xapoieon w hen he 
dashed through the [lasses of the Api'unines, driv- 
ing Anstrian and Sardinian before him, Jackson in 
18ti2 had served no long apprenticeship! to war. and 
yet his first important enterprise, involving most 
delicate questions of strategy and supply, was carried 
to a successful conclusion in the face of an enemy 
who at one time was treblj' superior, and takes 
rank as a masterpiece of leadership. It is possible 



VALLEY CAMPAIGN. 593 

that Jackson, in one characteristic, even excelled 
Napoleon. With all his daring he was pre-emi- 
nently cautious. He was neither intoxicated hy 
victory nor carried away by the gaudia certaminis. 
His self-restraint was as strong as Wellington's. 
Like the great Englishman, he knew as well when 
to decline a battle as when to fight one ; he was 
never inveigled into a useless conflict, and his tri- 
umphs were never barren. The whole Valley cam- 
paign — from Kornstown to Port Repuldic — cost the 
Confederacy no more than twenty-five hundred men : 
and tills economy of life was due as much to Jack- 
son's prudence as to his skilful strategy. He never 
forgot that his was but a secondary role; that the 
decisive act of the campaign must be played before 
Richmoiul, and that every available musket would 
be needed to overwhelm McClellan. It is easy to 
imagine how his patience must have been tried when 
Fremont, after Port Republic, fell back on Harri- 
sonburg; how every impulse of his being must have 
urged instant imrsuit; how every soldierly instinct 
must have told him that the prey was before liim 
and that it needed but a few swift marches to crown 
the campaign by a victory more complete than any 
he had already won. 

The Valley campaign may be said to have been 
Jackson's only opportunity for showing bis strate- 
gical ability. In the movements (July 19th to 
August 14th) against Pope, culminating in the bat- 
tle of Cedar Run, although he completely achieved 
his object, the situation demanded no pre-eminent 
abilities. The Federal commander, in pushing 
Banks forward without suiiport, committed a mis- 
38 



594 LIFE OF CiENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSOX. 

take, and Jackson, with hi.s usual promptness, took 
swiftest advantage of it. The second phase of the 
campaign, liowever, gave a more brilliant (:)pening. 
Thrust with his single corps astride the enemy's 
commnnicatious, with his back to the Bull Run 
Mountains, the remainder of the Confederate army 
still beyo-nd the passes of that outlying range, and 
Pope's masses rapidly converging on his isolated 
troops, he had to face a situation that few would 
have faced unmoved. The mauoeuvres by which he 
baffled his adversaries, slipped from between their 
fingers, and regained his connection with Lee at 
exactly the right luonient, were even more skilful 
than those in which he escaped tlie converging col- 
umns of Fremont and McDowell at the end of May. 
Had the worst come to the worst he could always 
have retired through Aldie Gap : but Lee's object — 
the immediate overthrow of Pf)pe before he could 
be reinforced by McClellan — forbade retreat, and 
Jackson's brains and energy were equal to the task. 
A month later Lee imposed on him the capture ot 
Harper's Ferr}'. It was carried out, as were all ot 
Jackson's operations, in a manner which defies crit- 
icism, and throughout, the requirements of the gen- 
eral situation, the danger which menaced the main 
arm}', wei'e foremost in his mind. With the fall of 
Harper's Ferry the tale of Jackson's detached enter- 
prises came to an end. 

This is hardly the place to discuss his views on 
the military policy of the Confederate government. 
He was an ardent and consistent advocate of inva- 
sion, and I have already quoted his conviction as to 
the only sound course which can be pursued bj' the 



NEVER BLUNDERED. 595 

weaker side. Ou tliis point opinions will probably 
differ, but it may be said that it is a course which 
has the sanction of many precedents, and has been 
the invariable practice of the great masters of war. 
Nor can I do more tliau refer to the methods by 
wliich Jackson proposed to bring tlie Xorth to its 
knees. They are full}' explained in Mrs. Jackson's 
pages, and to examine their merits and to weigh 
their probable chances of success would be to write 
a treatise on the war. 

So far I have confined myself to Jackson's con- 
ception and application of strategic principles. 
That both conception and application could hardly 
have been improved upon is my firm conviction. 
It is difficult to point out even the shadow of a mis- 
take. Nor was Jackson the tactician inferior to 
Jackson the strategist. Space forbids me examin- 
ing the salient features of his many battles; but 
from Kernstown to Chancellorsville the same char- 
acteristics almost invariably reappear. Concentra- 
tion of force against the enemy's weakest point, the 
employment at that point of every available man 
and gun, a close combination of the three arms, 
infantry, cavalry and artillery, relentless energy in 
attack, constant counterstroke on the defensive, 
were the leading principles on which he acted ; and 
here again he was Napoleonic to the core. It has 
been said that the leaders of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, as Lincoln's native shrewdness detected, never 
"put in all their troops." Even Grant, in the cam- 
paign of 1864, failed, except at Cofd Harbor, in this 
respect, and at Cold Harbor the troops were not 
put in at the enemy's weak point. Here Jackson 



596 LIFE OF GENERAL TUOJIAS J. JACKSON. 

never blundered, und we may compare the strength 
of the three lines which crushed Hooker's left at 
Chancellorsville * with the comparative weakness 
of the assault at Gettysburg; and yet the Federal 
army at Chancellorsville was stronger and the Con- 
federate weaker than on July 3d. It is true tiiat 
Jackson was not invariably tactically successful. 
lie Avas beaten at Kernstown, although that action 
was a strategic success; his advanced guard was 
roughl}- handled at McDowell; Port Republit- 
might well have been a less costly victory, and iit 
Trayser's farm his delay was disastrous. 

To my mind, however, the action with CTibbou at 
Gainesville, although the troops behaved magniti- 
cently, was tiie only occasion on which Jackson 
show^ed less than his wonted skill. His delay at 
Frayser's farm is explained by his letter to Mrs. 
Jackson (page 303). Constant rain and unhealtliy 
bivouac had brought on an attack of fever; but at 
Gaines\nlle the tactical disposition of tlie Confeder- 
ate forces was not such as we should have looked 
for. It was purely "a hammer and tongs" tight, 
carried through with extraordinary gallantry by the 
men, but with 710 mananivring whatever on the part 
of the Confederate general. 

Naj)oleon, however, wrote, '• I have made so many 
mistakes that I have learned to blush for them,"' 
and the specks on Jackson's fame as a tactician are 
not onh' few and far between, but may generally be 

* I have not enter^ into the vexed question of whether Lee or 
Jackson designed this movement, and I am convinced in my own 
mind that both saw the weak point in tlie Federal dispositions, just 
as they had both seen the weak point in 1862. 



CONFEDEKATK CAVALRY. 597 

attributed to the shortcomings of his subordinates 
or to the unavoidable accidents of war. One point 
as regards Jackson's tactical skill has hardly 
received sufficient attention. Although his whole 
knowledge of cavalry was j)urely theoretical, he 
liandled his squadrons with an ability which no 
other general up to the date of his death had yet 
displayed. I am not alluding merely to the well- 
timed charge which captured Kenly's retreating 
infantry after the engagement at Front Royal, 
although that in itself was a brilliant piece of 
leadership, but to the use made of the cavalry in 
the Valley campaign. It is true that Stuart had 
already done good work in 1861, but as a general 
commanding a force of all arms Jackson was the 
lirst to draw the full beueiit from his cavalry. 

" The manner," says Lord AVolseley, " in which he 
mystified his enemies is a masterpiece." It was not, 
however, his secrecy regarding his plans on which 
lie principally relied to keejJ his enemy in the dark. 
Ashby's squadrons were the instrument. Not only 
was a screen established which perfectly concealed 
the movements of the Valley army, but constant 
demonstrations at far distant points confused and 
bewildered the Federal commanders. In his employ- 
ment of cavalry Jackson was in advance of his age. 
Such tactics had not been seen since the days of 
Napoleon. The Confederate horsemen in the Valley 
were far better handled than those of France or 
Austria in 1859, of Prussia or Austria in 1866, of 
France in 1870, of the Allies or the Russians in the 
Crimea. In Europe the teachings of Napoleon had 
been forgotten. The great cloud of horsemen which 



598 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

veiled tlio marelies of the Graud Army had vanished 
from memory; the great importance ascribed by the 
emperor to procuring early information of his 
enemy and hiding his own movements had been 
overlooked ; and it was left to an American soldier 
to revive his methods. Nor was Jackson led away 
by the specious advantages of the so-called " raids."' 
In hardly a single instance did such expeditions 
inflict more than temporary discomfort on the 
enemy, and more than once an army was left 
stranded and was led into false manoeuvres for 
want of tlie information which the cavalry would 
have supplied. 

Hooker at Chancellorsville, Lee at Gettysburg, 
Grant at Spottsylvania, owed defeat, in great meas- 
ure, to the absence of their mounted troops. In the 
Valley, on the conti'ary, success was made possible 
because the cavalry was kept to its legitimate dutj-, 
that is, to procure information, to screen all move- 
ments, and to take part in battle at the decisive 
moment. 

Jackson was certainly fortunate wlien Ashby 
came under his command. That dasliing caj^tain of 
free lances was a most valuable colleague. It was 
much to have a cavalry leader who could not only 
•fight and reconnoitre, but who had capacity enough 
to divine the enemy's intentions. But the ideas that 
governed the employment of cavalry were Jackson's 
alone. He it was who, at tlie end of May, placed 
the squadrons across Fremont's road from Wardens- 
ville, who ordered the demonstrations against Banks 
and those which caused Fremont to retreat after 
Port Republic. More admirable still was the quick- 



REMARKABLE CAMPAIGNS. 599 

ness with which he recognized the use of cavalry 
that coukl fight dismounted. From the Potomac to 
Port Republic his horsemen covered his retreat, 
lining every stream and the borders of every wood, 
holding on to every crest of rising ground, check- 
ing the pursuers with their fire, compelling them to 
deploy, and then withdrawing rapidly to the next 
position. Day after day was Fremont's advanced 
guard held at bay, his columns delayed, and his gen- 
erals irritated by their slippery foe. Meanwhile the 
Confederate infantry, falling back at their leisure, 
were relieved of all annoyance. And if the cavalry 
were suddenly driven in, support was invariably at 
hand, and a comj^act brigade of iniantry, supported 
by artillery, quickly sent the pursuers to the right- 
about. The retreat of the Valley armj' was man- 
aged with the same skill as its advance, and the 
rear-guard tactics of the campaign are no less 
remai'kable than those of the attack. 

I have said nothing about Jackson's marches, and, 
as a matter of fact, while he managed to get more 
f)Ut of his men than any other commander of his 
time his marches can hardly be classed as extraordi- 
nary. They certainly do not exceed those made 
eiaewhere ; and if it be asserted that the Virginian 
roads are bad, they could hardly have been more 
infamous than those travelled by Ijoth the French 
and English troops in Spain and Portugal ; and yet 
the marches in the Peninsula, on very many occa- 
sions, were longer and more rapid than those of 
"the foot cavalry." 

When Jackson fell at Chancellorsville, his mili- 
tary career had only just begun, and the question. 



600 LIKE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

what place lie take.s in history, is harcll}' so pertinent 
as the question, what place he coukl have taken had 
he been spared. So far as his opportunities had per- 
mitted, ho had shown liimself in no way inferior 
to the greatest generals of the century, to Welling- 
ton, to Napoleon or to Lee. That Jackson was equal 
to the highest demands of strategy his deeds and 
conceptions show; that he was equal to the task of 
handling a large army on the field of battle must 
be left to conjecture ; but throughout the whole of 
his soldier's life he was never intrust<?d with any 
detached mission which he failed to execute with 
complete success. No general made fewer mistakes. 
No general so jiersistently outwitted his opjionents. 
No general bettor understood the use of ground or 
the value of time. No general was more highlj- 
endowed with courage, l>oth physical and moral, 
and none ever secured to a greater degree the trust 
and aifection of his troops. And yet, so upright 
was his life, so profound his faith, so exquisite his 
tenderness, that Jackson's many victories are almost 
liis least claim to be ranked amongst the world's 
true heroes. 



-^,?.n/^kuK;^ 



Note. — On page 596 I excused Jackson's inaction at the battle 
of Fraysers Farm b_v saving that lie had fever at the time. Since 
writing tliis 1 have studied the Buttles <if the Seven Days, and the 
difficulties and circumstances in .Jackson's report in greater detail, 
and have come to the conclusion that Jackson could not have joined 
in the battle, and that be was perfectly right in not attempting to 
throw his infantry over White Oak Swamp in the face of Fnink- 
lin's troops. 



GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON. 

An Autograph Letter from Viscount (General) Wolsblet, 

Commander-in-Chief op the Armies 

OP Great Britain. 



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602 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



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EXAMPLE OF STRATEGY. 60S 







604 LIFE OF OlENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



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INCIDENTS 



LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON 

By Majdk-Gexkbai, M. C. Butler. 

(Commmided DiviBion of Cavalry Army nf Nortlieni Virginia.) 

Some years ago, dining with a In-other -senator 
in Washington, a distinguished officer of liigh rank 
in the United States Army sat on my left. He 
turned and asked me if I liad ever met Stonewall 
Jackson. Replying in the affirmative, he said: "I 
regard it one of the ndsfortunes of my life never to 
have met him. He was easily the greatest military 
genius on either side in our late war." 

Coming from a soldier distinguished liimself in 
the United States Army and connected with one of 
the most distinguished of the Federal generals, I 
could not avoid surprise, and, at the same time, felt 
gratified to find so competent a judge coinciding 
with my own opinion. 

I thereupon related an incident which came with- 
in my personal knowledge, illustrative of General 
Jackson's character. 

In one of the great battles in Virginia, General 
Jackson had ordered two brigade commanders, 
brigadiers of infantry, to attack a very strong posi- 
tion indicated by him. To one unacquainted AvitJ' 
his plans and [jurposes it did look like desperatiot 



606 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

and slaughter to the attacking columns, and the 
two general officers rode up to General Jackson to 
protest. 

He drew himself up and said: "Gentlemen, 
when I receive orders it is my habit to obey them, 
and when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed." 
This ended the interview. 

The two officers put their commands in motion, 
moved to the attack, and carried the point at which 
General Jackson was aiming. These two brigades 
were to play a certain part in a general plan, and 
they did so brilliantly and successfully, without very 
great loss. 

There was a charm about General Jackson which 
inspired all private soldiers under his command with 
a sublime, unquestioned confidence in his leadership, 
an indescribable something, amounting almost to fas- 
cination on the part of his soldiers, that induced them 
to do uncomplainingly whatever he would order. 
It was not the inspiration of fear, but a deep and 
abiding devotion to his person, to his character, to 
his matchless and unerring leadership and self- 
sacrifice. 

It is therefore not surprising that, when the 
Grand Armj- of Northern Virginia, whose historj' 
he had clone so nnicli to immortalize, learned of his 
mortal wound and death, a gloom of sincere sorrow 
and grief sank deep into our hearts. The feelings 
of his grim veterans, so accustomed to suffering, 
carnage and death, melted into the tenderest pathos 
over the loss of their great and peerless commander 
and comrade. 



GENERAL JACKSON" 



ONE OF THE 



WORLD-S GREATEST SOLDIERS. 

By Major-Gknkral Fitzhuoh Lee. 

(Commanded the Cavalry Corpi Army of Northern Virginia, Ex-Governor of 
Virginia.) 

Thomas J. Jackson's name has been enrolled 
upon tlie pagea of history as one of the greatest 
soldiers the world has produced. His fame, fanned 
rapidly into existence by the fierce fires of battle, 
suifers no diminution by the revolution of the hands 
on the clock of time, or by compai'ison with the 
i-ecords made by other military heroes. 

A singular boyhood developed into a wonderful 
manhood. Nature richly endowed him with pluck, 
pertinacity, stubbornness of purpose, determination, 
vast energy, and great faith in himself. These 
original foundation stones being securely laid, upon 
them he, and he alone, constructed a famous super- 
structure. 

Great soldiers have been molded into shape by 
the watchful care of noble mothers. Jackson when 
seven years old had no mother, when three no 
father. His future career was sustained by the 
dying praj'ers of the mother. Whether as a little 
boy of nine attempting to cut firewood on an island 



608 LIF,E OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

ou tlie Mississippi, or wlietlier occupied with hia 
uncle in agricultural labor, or during his West Point 
cadet life, or ou the burning sands of old Mexico, 
or amid the showers of shot and shell in the " War 
between the States," his strong native tendencies 
were ever greatly strengthened hv this mother's 
supplications. 

From a j-outh thus sustained came a remarkable 
man and a bold, active, vigilant soldier. The in- 
born genius slept in the early days of labor ; the 
capacity was there, but obscured during the orplian's 
trials. 

He started at the bottom of the West Point 
ladder, and, though weighted with disadvantages, 
climbed higher and higher each year, until at the 
end of his four years' course he was near the position 
occupied l)y those foremost in his class. 

Wearing the red shoulder straps of a young officer 
of artillery, he rapidly distinguished himself in the 
Mexican War, and by his coolness, sagacitj' and 
services came out of the war with a brilliant repu- 
tation as a subaltern. 

Owing to these rpialitications, three yeai-s after- 
wards the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Military 
Institute offered him a professorship over such pro- 
]i-ised names as McClellan, Rosecrans and G. W. 
Smith. 

From 1851 to 1861, ten j'ears, his life wa.^ not 
eventful ; but in the three years thereafter the 
renown of a comparatively unknown professor ex- 
tended to the limits of the civilized world. War 
(juickly developed his latent talent. The echoes of 
almost the first gun were filled Avith his achieve- 



•SAVED MANASSAS. 609 

ments. General li. E. Lee, as early as the 3d of 
July, 1861, wrote : 

"ElCHMOND, Va. 

"My Dear General, — I have the pleasure of seud- 
ing you a commission of Brigadier-General in the 
Provisional Army; and to feel that you merit it. 
Ma}- your advancement increase your usefulness to 
the State. Very truly, 

"R. E.Lee." 

Scarcely two weeks elapsed before Lee's wishes 
were confirmed ; the first battle of Manassas had 
been fought, and in its fiery furnace Thomas J. 
Jackson was forever christened Stonewall. 

The march of his brigade in that contest towards 
the point of contact, and the selection of a new 
line of battle at right angles to the former one, on 
which the shattered troops which first encountered 
McDowell's victorious turning columns could rally, 
and upon which fresh troops could form, gave the 
battle to the Southern troops. 

Jackson changed his position with military sagac- 
ity, but without official orders. He saved Manassas. 

His wonderful campaign in the Valley, when four 
hostile armies were converging to overthrow him, 
is in itself a marvellous exhibition of military genius. 

McDowell, who was advancing from Fredericks- 
burs: to unite with McClellan, was ordered to 
countermarch because Washington was thought to 
bo in danger. The absence of some twenty thou- 
sand men who might have been thrown by the Fed- 
eral commander on his right flank at Richmond, 
enveloping the Confederate left, was due to the l)rill- 
-39 



t)10 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

iant V'alley taetios of " Stoiiuwall." Jackson saved 
Hichmond. 

At the second Manassas, when he was placed by 
Lee's orders twenty-six miles in rear of Pope's line 
of battle, he displayed a masterlj- ability in defeating 
Pope's eftbrts to concentrate his army on him until 
lie was in position to unite with Long-street, who 
had Iteen ordered to nuiroli tlirough Thoroughfare 
Gap. 

His capture of Harper's Ferry and his services at 
Sharpsburg largely added to his fame. At Freder- 
icksburg he commanded the right wing of the army, 
and easily repulsed Franklin's attack at Hamilton's 
Crossing; and at his last groat liattle at Chancel- 
lorsville his successful flank march has gone into 
history as the greatest of his splendid achievements. 
The commanding general's loss was irreparable, 
and he was never able to wholly fill the vacant 
commission. Three corps, under Longstreet, Ewell 
and Hill, replaced the two formerly commanded bj- 
Longstreet and Jackson. 

There were many who thought J. E. B. Stuart, 
the Confederate cavalry commander, could have 
best wielded the dead warrior's sword. Stuart had 
personal courage, great endurance, ceaseless activity, 
never tailing vigilance, dash, was pugnacious and 
combative, quick to conceive and prompt to exe- 
cute. But there could never be but one Stonewall 
Jackson. When he was lost Lee's right arm was 
broken forever. 

The vigor of his lilows, the faith of his men, his 
own belief in the star of his destiny, the Napoleonic 
audacity, the celerity of movement, the sublimity of 



HEAVEX-BORN GENERAL. 



611 



his hope in God and his cause, never i appeared in 
another. 

" Had I had Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg," 
said Lee, "I would have won a great victory;" 
and a decisive victory there would have made what , 
Jackson was fighting for — two republics grow inj 
America where only one grew before. 

If he had commanded Lee's right corps in that 
struggle, the " Round Tops" and adjoining ridge 
would have been seized at a very early hour on the 
second day, for thei-e were no Federal troops then 
there to make resistance. It was simply a question 
of rapid marching from camp, which was " Stone- 
wall Jackson's way." If he had commanded Lee's 
left corps at Gettj'sburg, it is most probable the 
heights in front of the town would have been oc- 
cupied in the afternoon of the first day's encounter. 
The great battle would have been fought on another 
field. Jackson could liave saved Gettysburg. 

It has been said that Stonewall Jackson could 
not have commanded mighty armies involving the 
possession of great strategic skill, or fdan a great 
campaign, but the ready reply comes, the greater 
his command the greater his success ; and like 
Napoleon, it may be said of him, tliat if his enemies 
"would beat him they must imitate him." 

The crisis of greatness has been defined as 
"that nice line in the career of genius when doubt 
and envy cease and the popular admiration becomes 
irresistible." Jackson may have "marked time" 
before it, but the command forward was early given 
and he crossed it. The English called him a 
" Heaven-boril General;" and in Scotland the car 



612 



LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



conductors opening the doors of the compartments 
announced to the passengers his death. People 
everywhere, in every clime, are familiar with his 
exploits. 

In the American republic Thomas J. Jackson 
securely stands in the front rank, side hy side with 
her greatest soldiers. 





J',3KSCiN 




STATUE llF GENERAL JACKSON, LEXINCTON, VA. 
(See ileecription page IliiT.) 



HARPER'S FERRY. 

Bt Captain Joseph G. Morrison. 

(Aide-de-Caiiip (ui General Jacksou'a Staff.) 

The veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia 
will always remember Harper's Ferry. It was a 
salient point during the war, and before the war it 
was chosen by the anarchist, John Brown, as a 
strategic point ; a point where the first blood of the 
impending conflict should flow. Brown's object in 
selecting this unpretentious village was its being the 
seat of the United States Arsenal. Here were man- 
ufactured and stored the government's supply of 
arms; and the fanatical idea was, that "Uncle Sam" 
should furnish the implements and the slaves of 
old Virginia the sinews of war ; and they had only 
to flock to his standard and receive the implements 
of death. As is well remembered. Brown and 
his accomplices were hung ; but Harper's Ferry, thus 
made conspicuous, was ever afterwards prominent 
in the annals of the war. It Avas here " Stonewall" 
Jackson first came to the front. As Major Jackson, 
of the Virginia Military Institute, he took the corps 
of cadets to Harper's Ferry to put down the insur- 
rection, and remained until after Brown's execution. 
Again, on the 19th of April, 1861, when the war 
was inaugurated, Jackson arrived at Harper's Perry, 
with a commission of colonel from the Governor of 



614 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

Virginia, and took command of the forces of volun- 
teer troops assembled there. 

Before proceeding to narrate some of the events 
that occurred here, a descripticni of the place might 
he interesting. The village is triangular in shape 
and is located at the juncture of the Potomac and 
the 8henandoah rivers. These rivers, on uniting, 
force their way through a precipitous gorge in the 
Blue Ridge Mountains. On the north of the village 
and across the Potomac is a cliff several liundred 
feet high, jutting close up to the town, known as 
Maryland Heights. On the south and across the 
Shenandoah is a similar cliff, not quite so high or 
grand in appearance as its cis-a-vis, known as Lou- 
doun Heights. 

On the west, stretching from the Potomac to 
the Shenandoah, is a rolling ridge known as 
Bolivar Heights. The Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road i)asses down the right bank of the Potomac 
to the village, where, near the mouth of the Shenan- 
doah, it crosses to the left bank, passing through the 
gorge to Washington. The Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal also passes down the left bank of the Potomac. 
On these two great thoroughfares Washington and 
Baltimore dejiend in a great measure for their sup- 
plies. When Jackson took command at Harper's 
Ferry, his force consisted of about twenty-five 
hundred infantry, a few companies of cavalry and 
fifteen pieces of artillery. 

This force had been hastily gotten together from 
the volunteer companies of the State and partly 
from other States. They were citizen soldiery, with- 
out drill or discipline, and armed partly with what 



STONEWALI, BRIGAHE FORMED. 615 

arms were fomul in the government arsenal; but as 
most of the arms of value had been removed to 
"Washington, many of the troops had shot-guns and 
sporting ritles. Jackson realized fully the work 
that was before him. AVith this volunteer militia 
he would soon have to meet the United States Reg- 
ular Army, well-armed and e(£uipped soldiers. And 
it was here, more if possible than subsequentlj% that 
Jackson proved himself to be a genius in war, an or- 
ganizer and a disciplinarian. Here the "Stonewall" 
Brigade was formed. It was then called the Pirst 
Brigade and was formed and drilled by Jackson in 
person. "Whilst drilling was constantly going on, a 
force of men were engaged in removing the vah;a- 
ble machinery for manufacturing arms to Rich- 
mond. After this was accomplished the place was 
no longer valuable to the Confederacy, and on the 
19th of June, being threatened on the left and rear 
by General Patterson, it was evacuated, Jackson 
retiring to Winchester, thirty miles distant. The 
Federals now took possession and strongly forti- 
fied Bolivar Heights, and for over a year they held 
the place. 

During this time Jackson had fought and defeated, 
in succession, the commands of Milroy, Banks, 
Shields, Fremont and Pojie, and the invasion of 
Maryland was on. Jackson's command crossed the 
Potomac into Marj'land, near Leesburg, on the 5th 
of September, 1862, and on the 10th of September 
was encamped near Frederick City. It was here 
that General Lee and General Jackson had a "coun- 
cil of war," and Harper's Ferry was the subject of 
discussion. 



616 LIFK OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACK80N. 

It was tlien occuiiied by Generals White and Miles 
of the Federal Army witli 11,000 men, whi> were 
strongly fortified and were in such location in 
General Lee's rear and iiaiik that tliey conld annoy 
liis communications with liichniond and the Shen- 
andoah Valley. The result of the conference was 
that a hold attempt should be made to capture or 
destroy the garrison at Harper's Ferry. With Lee 
and Jackson no sooner was a plan formed than it 
was executed. ^IcLaAvs, Anderson and J. G. Walker 
"were detailed to act in concert with Jackson, who 
was to command the expedition. General Lee, with 
I). H. Hill and the balance of his armj', was to hold 
oft" McOlellan. McLaws and Anderson marched 
via Burkittsville and Pleasant Valley to Maryland 
Heights, and drove tlie Federal pickets from the 
heights into tVie town on the 13th of September. 

Walker Avas to recross the Potomac and occupy 
Loudoun Heights, which he did ; attempting first to 
cross at Cheek's Ford, but meeting witli resistance. 
croHsed at the I'oint of Rocks and reached Loudoun 
Heights on the 13th. Jackson, with his own corjts, 
consisting f)f the divisions of Ewell, A. P. Hill and 
Taliaferro, marched from Frederick \\i\ Boones- 
lioro, and crossed the I'otomac at Light's Ford, near 
Williamsport, and struck the Baltimore and Ohio 
Ivailroad at Xorth ^rountain depot: pushing down 
the railroad to Martinsburg, where General White 
was encamj^ed with a l)rigade of infantry. 

White, seeing Jackson's approach in force from 
the west, retired to Bolivar Heights, and Jackson 
arrived opposite their fortified camp by noon of the 
13th. 



MARYLAND HEIHHTS. 617 

Immediately on arriving Jackson threw out sig- 
nals for McLaws and Walker, and finding them both 
in position began preparations for attack. Their 
position on Bolivar was very strong and to attack 
directly from the front wonld entail a fearfnl loss of 
life, even if successful. The evening of the 13th 
and all of the 14th was spent in reconnoitring and 
massing the troops in the best positions. McLaws 
and Walker were ready for the fray, but thej' could 
light only with artillery. McLaws had hauled by 
hand two Parrott guns to the top of Maryland 
Heights and Walker hail pulled also by hand a 
whole battery to the top of Loudoun. 

In front of Bolivar Jackson had placed in posi- 
tion the batteries of Poagne, Carpenter, Latimer, 
Mcintosh, Davidson, Braxton and Crenshaw. It 
was not until the night of tlie 14th that his plans 
were fully formed. During that night he sent his 
chief of artillery. Colonel S. Crutcbfield, with ten 
guns of Ewell's division, across the Shenandoah to 
take position on the western slopes of Loudoun 
Heights. The position taken by these guns, while 
not taken until the last moment, was the key to the 
situation. They took the place of Jackson's usual 
flank movement. They were not only just the right 
height to throw shot eft'ectually, but completely en- 
filaded the enemy's breastworks and trenches. 

At daylight of the 15th, as soon as the lifting fog 
revealed the dark lines of the enemy, a sharp ring 
of a rifled cannon from the top of Maryland Heights, 
followed as by an echo from Loudoun and taken up 
by Crutcbfield, told that the work had begun. The 
enemy replied with spirit. They had seventy-three 



618 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

pieces of artillery, one battery being siege guns or 
thirty-pounder Parrotts, but the elevated position of 
McLaws and "Walker gave tlioni decidedly the drop, 
not only on the big guns but on the whole Federal 
line. 

Cruti'hiield's guns, taking the enemy in reverse, 
did territic execution. It now was only a question 
of time and ammunition for these guns to do the 
work. iSTearly every shot told and they came thick 
and fast. The enemy shifted to take every possible 
advantage of such ground as would shield them, 
and if they could only hold out until evening, Mc- 
Clellaii would come to the rescue ; he was even then 
threatening Mc-Laws' rear. T). IT. Hill had heroic- 
ally held him in check at the South Mountain Pass 
on the previous evening; but Hill could not hold at 
bay McClellan's whole army, and retired at night- 
fall before it. Through his signal corps Jackson 
received hourly messages of McClellan's approach 
and position. 

At 10 A. Ji., when the artillery had seemed to ac- 
complish as much as desired, or McClellan's advance 
was getting hazardous, .Tackson rode to A. P. Hill, 
who commanded his leading division, and said : 
"General Hill, charge and give them the bayonet." 
Hill was a soldier of few words. He merely bowed 
and turned towards his command. Before riding a 
dozen paces, he motioned to a trooper in his escort, 
and from the trooper's bugle rang out " the ad- 
A-ance!" Xow, for it! The men sprang forward 
with wonderful alacrity. They expected nothing 
but shot and canister. The enemy seemed more in 
commotion, doubtless anticipating the work before 



FEDERALS CHEERED LUSTILY. 619 

them. Suddenly a white ilag was seen on their 
works. "What could it mean ? Surely not surrender! 
That flag was looked at' with distrust. 

Ahout this time the officer in command of the 
garrison received a death wound. Some claimed 
that the shot which killed him was fired after the 
white flag was hoisted, hut if this were so it was 
because the smoke before some of the guns was so 
dense that the flug was not seen. 

Jackson and A. P. Hill moved forward to recei\e 
the surrender. They had been watching the effect 
of the shot and probably anticipated it more than 
the line. The Federals stacked their arms and took 
position in line a few paces to the rear c)f their 
guns. As General Jackson rode witli liis staff 
through the Federal lines they gazed with curiosity, 
then began to lift their caps, and finally cheered 
hastily. Jackson raised his old gray cap and gal- 
loped down into the village, directing A. P. Hill to 
receive the surrender. 

This was probal>ly the largest capture made b}' 
the Confederates dui'ing the war. Eleven thousand 
prisoners, thirteen thousand stand of arms, seventy- 
three pieces of artillery, besides abundant supplies 
of ordnance, medical and commissary stores, were 
the fruits of this victory. 

Two days later, during the battle of Sharpsbui-g, 
Jackson's men were using these same guns and 
ammunitioji against McClellan, and whilst fighting 
that battle ^vere living upon their rations and using 
their medical stores for the relief of the wounded. 
More than once during Jackson's Yalley campaigns 
did this occur. 



620 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

After tlio battle of Sharpsburg, Harper's Ferry 
was again occupied by the Federals, aud from then 
until tlie close of the war they were permitted to 
study the beauties of nature and to meditate upon 
what was and what might have been. 







y 




'jiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiimirtiMiii^^ 



STATl'K (IF OENEItAI, .lACKSllN, KK'HMuNli, VA. 
(See description pHge(i:lJ.) 



"STONEWALL" .TACKSOK 

By Colonkl F. AV. M. Holliday. * 

(Kx-Governor of Virginia.) 

Most of the actors in the world's draiiiii arc tliose 
who come and go and perform their work without 
enchaining our highest attention and admiration, 
ifow and tlieH an individual appears marking his 
advent and stay with evidences of marvellous 
superiority to his contemporaries in some high 
sphere of human action. We can not alwaj'S define 
by name his splendid traits and, for want of a bet- 
ter term, we say he is gifted among mortals with 
genius. Such was " Stonewall " Jackson ; he was 
conspicuously and startlingly the very genius of 
war. 

Save his experience in Mexico, where he gave 
promise of his coming greatness, he led a retired 
and unobtrusive life of peace ; but whilst thus i;n- 
obtrusive and seemingly unaspiring, his vigorous 
and incisive intellect did not rest, nor his towering 
ambition to achieve things good and great slumber. 

* Colonel F. "W. M. Holliday conimandpd the Thirty-third Vir- 
ginia Infantry, was assigned to General .Jackson's brigade and was 
with him on every march and in every fight, without the loss of a 
single day, until he lost his right arm at the hattle of " Cedar Run " 
or "Slaughter Mountain." Unfltted on the field hy this loss and 
sickness, he was elected to the Second Confederate Congress and was 
a memher at the time of the surrender ; was Governor of Virginia 
1878-1882. 



622 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

lie iiiaik' nil disphiy ofcitlier, Ijut pursued the even 
tenor of his way, modestly Imt faithfully perform- 
ing all things that were given him to do, his lofty 
qualities being known only to those who knew 
him well. 

But the opportunity in due time came with the 
coming of the Confederate War. Carrying the 
cause in his mind and upon his heart, he went 
among the earliest into the army to vindicate it. 
Fortunately for hoth, he was assigned to a brigade 
composed of the elite of the young men in every 
walk and sphere in the Valley of Virginia, from 
Harper's Ferry to Bristol. He and his men seemed, 
like kindred spirits, to sympathize from the begin- 
ning, and in the first great liattle, by their heroic 
courage and fortitude, conferred upon him the name 
which he ever after bore, and which he, in turn, 
lifted to an immortalit}' of fajne. 

It was my fortune and fate to have been a mem- 
ber of that brigade. I was thrown much with its 
commander and knew him in the privacy of his 
tent and by his side upon the marcli and in the fury 
of the fight. In the former, he was ever the intelli- 
gent, self-contained and earnest gentleman, spend- 
ing no idle time, studying the field of his operations 
and mastering the details of his woi'k ; in the lat- 
ter he was the same, his faculties not excited, only 
exalted, by the imminence of the position or of the 
crisis and in perfect self-possession commanding the 
situation. 

In the quiet of his headquarters his plans were 
formed, slowly perhaps, but with intense study. 
When formed, he was ready ; ordering his tent to 



STRUCK WITH SWIFTNESS. 623 

be struck and putting himself at the head of his 
coUimns, with unbounded confidence in himself and 
his men, who reciprocated that confidence, he 
moved and struck with the swiftness and fierceness 
of an eagle upon liis quarry. And victory always 
followed. 

In two years' time he rose from comparative 
obscurity into world-wide renown, and his fame 
girdled the earth. So modest and retiring and self- 
denying had been his life, that with each promotion 
apprehension prevailed that he might not be equal 
to a higher and more enlarged arena : but his abili- 
ties shoAved themselves greater than his field of 
action, and he rose from station to station, adding 
fresh laurels to his crown of victory till reliance in 
him became supreme and men's heads grew dizzy 
as they tried to follow " the bright track of his fiery 
car." 

True greatness never ceases to command admira- 
tion. It grows with the lapse of years, which scru- 
tinizes its elements and, sifting its adventitious, pre- 
serves its real, qualities. ISTearl}' a century has gone 
since Washington and Napoleon acted their part, 
but the longing to know them increases, and data 
are gathered from every quarter to learn the sources 
of their power. The latter, in the contemplation of 
their respective careers, said the fame of his illus- 
trious contemporary would wax, whilst his would 
wane. Time has proven that he was right. Xo 
one disputes the amazing intellectual genius of 
Napoleon, whilst deploring his moral weakness; all 
bow with spontaneous admiration before the colos- 
sal character of Washington, blending the intel- 



624 LIFE OF GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON. 

lectual and the moral in almost sublime propor- 
tions. 

" Stone^vall " .Jackson, like the truly great, will 
likewise grow greater with the centuries. He had 
all the brilliant military genius of Napoleon, and, 
considering the brief duration of his career, 
achieved more marvels in the field of arms. He 
had the moral qualities of Washington. His life 
was stainless even of a suspicion, while it was 
full of the sweetest and gentlest charities, and his 
burning patriotism was swallowed up in his relig- 
ious faith. 

Histor}' will be full to bursting of his public work 
and his name will widen with the ages. His deeds 
will become a school, in which the science of war 
will Tie studied, and volumes will be written upon 
his methods and his character. 

But the profounder student will want to know, 
and the world at large, whose common sentiment is 
at last more searching than the learned, what was 
the private life of this martial wonder? How 
often genius alone fails to stand the turning on of 
that keen light! 

His wife alone, most competent to know, has told 
us this with beautiful aiul winning simplicity and 
grace, in the story of that inner life; how true, how 
modest, how devoted he was, how the fierce thun- 
derbolt of war was interwoven through and through 
with the tenderest Christian virtues. 

This new edition of her book w^ill, doubtless, 
after awhile, be followed by others in quick succes- 
sion, by wide demand. The scholar will take inter- 
est in the study of the elements of his renown and 



GREATNESS GREATER. 625 

the central foi'ces of his success ; the masses will be 
elevated by viewing the unpretending and self-foi*- 
getting oliaracter of the man who carried by storm 
all hearts, as well as all opposition in the battle; 
parents will put this stor}' in the hands of their 
children, that they may learn how goodness makes 
all greatness greater. 



"VxiJOo ^>i\^ .\V^0JubJM^ 




GENERAL T. J. (*■ STONEWALL ") JACKSON. 
From a medallion iu the possessiou of Mrt. Jackson. 



APPENDIX. 

In adding an appendix, my desire is to place upon 
the same lasting basis as this book a record of two 
great statues which have been erected to the memorj' 
of General Jackson. These expressions have voiced 
the feeling, both in England and in this land, that 
he was worthy to stand alongside the heroes of the 
past, whose statues have been such an inspiration 
to the men of our country since the Revolution. 

In my description of these statues, I have copied 
largely from the newspaper accounts of the celebra- 
tion of the unveiling ceremonies — when Southern 
loyalty and devotion culminated in these lasting 
memorials of their beloved chieftain. 

But these memorials are not coniined alone to 
General Jackson's mother State, Virginia, to whom 
he was so true and devoted a son. The Louisiana 
Division of the Army of Northern Virginia testi- 
fied their love for him by erecting an imposing 
statue in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, in 1881. 

In Augusta, Ga., also, upon a handsome Confed- 
erate monument one figure represents General Jack- 
son ; and there may be other statues in the South I 
have not seen, but to which I would give just and 
grateful recognition. 

No tribute that has ever been paid to the memory 
of General Jackson is fraught with more magna- 
nimity and sympathetic admiration of his character 
than that of the presentation of the English statue 



628 APPENDIX. 

of him, which stands in the Capitol Square at Rieli- 
mond, Va. 

The Hon. A. J. B. Beresford Hope, M. P., was 

the represeiitativo of his countrymen in making tliis 
grand offering to the State of Virginia, as the fol- 
lowing interesting letter from him to Governor 
Kemper will show : 

"Akklow House, Connaught Place, 
London, March 2, 1875. 

" Sir, — When the news reached England of the 
death of General T. J. Jackson (so well known as 
'Stonewall' Jackson), a subscription was spon- 
taneously organized in this country, among persons 
who admired the character of that truly great man, 
to procure a statue of him which tiiey might pre- 
sent to his native country as a tribute of English 
sympathy and admiration. The work was intrusted 
to a most distinguished artist (the late Mr. J. H. 
Foley, R. A.), and although its progress was delayed 
by the ill health of the sculptor and by his conscien- 
tious desire for the accuracy of the portrait, and, 
latterly, by liis death, it has been brought to a suc- 
cessful conclusion in the form of a standing statue 
of heroic size, cast in bronze. It is a very noble 
work of art and, it is hoped and believed, a faithful 
likeness. 

• " As representing the subscrihers, it is now my 
pleasurable dutj' to ask you whether the State of 
Virginia will accept this memorial of its distin- 
guished son, and tribute of English sympathy, and 
would guarantee its erection in some conspicuous 
spot in Richmond. If the answer is favorable, I 
would take the necessary steps to forward the statue 



APPENDIX. 629 

to its destination. It is the privilege of members of 
our Royal Academy of Arts that the works of a 
deceased Academician may be contributed to the 
exhibition immediately succeeding his death. It is 
considered due alike to the artist and the subject 
that the English people should have the opportunity 
of seeing the statue before it leaves this country 
forever. 

" The annual exhibition of the Academj' closes 
about the beginning of August, after which date 
no delay need take place in forwarding the statue 
to Virginia. I have the honor to remain, sir, 
"Your faithful and obedient servant, 

"A.J. B. Beresford Hope, 
"M. P. for University of Cambridge." 

From the message of Governor Kemper (who was 
himself a gallant, wounded Confederate soldier), 
communicating Mr. Hope's letter to the General 
Assembly, the following extract is worthy of 
preservation : 

" It I'evives no animosities of the past, it wounds 
the sensibilities of no good man of whatever party 
or section, to honor and revere the name of Jackson. 
All the world knows that the earth beneath which 
his body lies covers the ashes of a patriot and hero, 
whose greatness shed lustre on the age in which he 
lived. His example belongs to mankind, and his 
deeds and virtues will be cherished by all the coming 
generations of the great American republic as among 
the proudest memories of p common glory. Many 
others are now the objects of higher honors and 
louder praises. But when the accidents of fortune 
and success shall no longer determine the value of 



630 APPENDIX. 

principles aud achievements, when the names of 
others now more applauded shall have been swept 
into oblivion by the hand of time, the memory of 
Stonewall Jackson, like that of his great commander, 
Lee, will continue to grow brighter as the centuries 
pass into history." 

The unveiling of the statue took place on the 26th 
of October, 1876. The day was one of autumn's 
richest splendor, and the city was beautifully and 
appropriately decorated. The flags of Great Britain 
and the United States waved together — pennants, 
evergreens and flowers expressed in emblematic and 
figurative designs the crowning sentiment of the 
occasion : " England's Tribute to Virginia Valor.'' 
From all parts of the country (but chiefly from the 
South) came such a multitude as had not assembled 
in Richmond since tlie close of the war. 

The procession was immen.se and imposing — 
General Josejdi E. Johnston, as chief marshal, 
with his stafl:", leading; then General Jackson's stall", 
without a leader ; the Stonewall Brigade ; a long 
line of old ofiicers and soldiers of the Confederate 
Army, including infantry and cavalry ; tbe digni- 
taries of the State, citizens and visitors. Bands of 
music were interspersed and the whole pageant was 
as grand as love and veneration for the dead could 
make it. The ceremonies of unveiling were opened 
witli jirayer by Bishop Doggett, of the Methodist 
Episc(Ji>al Church, South. Governor Kemper then 
made a cordial and graceful .speech of welcome, in 
which he said : " With a mother's tears and love, 
with ceremonies to be chronicled in her archives 
and transmitted to the latest posterity, the Common- 




l^Fiuiit View . I 

FclLKVS ENGLISH STATIE OK GES. T. J. (."iTIlNEWA M. l .lACKSOS, 
lilrimoSD, VA. 



APPENDIX. 631 

wealth tbit* day emblazons the virtues and conse- 
crates in enduring bronze the image of her mighty 
dead, i^ot for herself alone, but for the sister States 
whose sons he led in war, Virginia accepts and she 
will proudly preserve the sacred trust now consigned 
to her perpetual custody. Not for the Southern 
people only, but for every citizen of whatever section 
of the American Republic, this tribute to illustrious 
virtue and genius is transmitted to the coming ages, 
to be cherished, as it will be, with national pride as 
one of the noblest memorials of a common heritage 
of glory. Nay, in every countr}- and for all man- 
kind, Stonewall Jackson's career of i;nconscious 
heroism will go down as an inspiration, teaching 
the power of courage, and conscience, and faith, 
directed to the glory of God." 

The Governor closed his brief address by present- 
ing the orator of the day, as " the companion and 
friend of Jackson, the reverend man of God — Moses 
D. Hoge." 

Dr. Hoge has long been known as the great pul- 
pit power of Richmond. His address held the vast 
audience spell-bound for over an hour — his burning 
eloquence and magnetism deeply moving the hearts 
of the people and eliciting the warmest enthusiasm 
and applause. 

At the close of the oration, the statiie was 
unveiled amid thunders of artillery, music and the 
most enthusiastic applause. 

A touching incident of the occasion was a call 
from the old soldiers to see little Julia, the only 
living representative of General .Tackson, then twelve 
years of age. She Avas accordingly led upon the 



632 APPENDIX. 

platform by Governor Kemper, who introduced liur 
thus: " Soldiers, I presL-nt to you, Julia, the only 
child of ' Stoni'wall ' Jackson!" Hats Avcre lifted, 
and no louder or more heartfelt cheers went up that 
day than those which greeted the trembling child, 
and man}' a tear moistened the eyes of the bronzed 
veterans who had followed her soldier father. 

In the evening a reception was held at the gov- 
ernor's mansion to give the old soldiers an oppor- 
tunity to pay their respects to their general's Avife 
and daughter, and such an aft'ecting scene as it was 
is seldom witnessed in this land. Nothing could 
have been more different from the conventional 
dress reception. The dear old soldiers came marcli- 
ing in — many in their plain country garbs; some 
stumping on wooden legs, others offering the left 
hand because the right had been lost upon the field 
of battle ; many of them (instead of the formal 
hand-shake) taking my hand and that of my child 
in their big, rough hands, and shaking and .shaking, 
while the tears rolled down their cheeks. " This 
scene," said one who was present, "gave me an 
insight into the marvellous hold Jackson had upon 
the affections of his men, as nothing had ever done." 

The celebration was concluded by a magnificent 
display of tireworks upon the Capitol S([uare. 

The statue is a figure of heroic size, seven feet 
and three inches in height, erect and noble ; head 
uncovered; the right hand,grasi)ing a gauntlet, rests 
naturally upon the hip ; on the left arm hangs a 
military cloak, while the left hand holds the hilt of 
a sword, whose point, without bearing any weight, 
is resting lightly upon the top of a low stove icall 





(Back Vifw.) 

FOLEY'S ENGLISH STATUE OF GEN. T. J. (STONEWALL) JAC'KSON, 
RICHMOND, VA. 



APPENDIX. 633 

that symbolizes the heroic name. The bared head, 
which is turned a little to the right, is looking 
keenly but calmly into the distance, as if he were 
watching, with confidence in bis subordinates, for 
the fulfilment of an order already giveu. The atti- 
tude combines ease, dignity and endurance. The 
costume is that of a Confederate general, with 
military boots, and in every detail the eft'ect is 
graceful and true to life. It is the face, however, 
that is worthiest of stitdy and admiration. A coun- 
tenance not only expressing earnestness, resolution, 
tenderness and goodness, but enormous will power, 
andthat self-control which forms such an important 
element in the power of controlling others. 

The statue will stand among statues as Jackson 
stood among men — simple, heroic and sublime. 

The pedestal is of Virginia granite, and is mod- 
elled from the designs of the sculptor, Foley. It is 
perfectly projjortioned, forming a fitting base for 
the statue, and bears this inscription : 

PRESENTED BY ENGLISH GENTLEMEN 
AS A 

Tribite ok Admiration vor thk Soliher 
ANi> Patriot 

THOMAS J. JACK80X. 

' Akd Gratefully Accei-ted by Virginia in 

THE Name of the Southern People. 

Done A. D. 187.5, 

IX the Hundredth Year ok the 

Commonwealth. 



•look! there is JACKSON STANDING 
LIKE A STONE WALL! ' 



634 APPENDIX. 

In connection with the account of English love 
and liberality, as expressed by this statue, it may not 
be inaiipropriate to add several expressions of the 
same feeling from other sources, yet still English. 

FROM THE LONDON TIMES, MAY 2*5tH. 

" The Confederate laurels won on the field of 
Chanoellorsville must be twined with the cypress. 
. . . Even on this side of the ocean the gallant 
soldier's fate will everywhere be heard of with pity 
and sympathy. Not only as a brave man fighting 
for his country's independence, but as one of the 
most consummate generals that this century has 
produced, ' Stonewall ' Jackson will carr^- with him 
to his early grave the regrets of all who can admire 
greatness and genius. From the • earliest days of 
the Avar he has been conspicuous for the most re- 
markable military qualities. That mixture of dar- 
ing and judgment, which is the mark of ' Heaven- 
born ' generals, distinguished him beytmd any man 
of his time. Although the young Confederacy has 
been illustrated by a number of eminent soldiers, 
yet the applause and devotion of his countrymen, 
confirmed by the judgment of European nations, 
have given tlie first place to General Jackson. The 
military feats he accomplished moved the minds of 
peoi)le with astonishment, which it is only given to 
the highest genius to produce. The blows he struck 
at the enemy were as terrible and decisive as those 
of Bonaparte himself. The march by which he 
surjirised the army of Pope last year would be 
enough in. itself to give him a high place in military 
history. But, perhaps, the crowning glory of his 



APPENDIX. 635 

life was the great Itattle in wiiicli lie tell. AVhen 
the Federal commander, by crossing the river twelve 
miles above his camp and pressing on, as he thonght, 
to the rear of the Confederates, had placed them 
between two Ijodies of liis army, he was so confi- 
dent of success as to boast that the enemy was the 
property of the Army of the Potomac. It was 
reserved to Jackson, b}' a swift and secret march, to 
fall upon his right wing, crush it, and by an attack 
unsurpassed in fierceness and pertinacit}*, to drive 
his very superior forces back into a position from 
which he could not extricate himself except by flight 
across the river." 

FROM THE LONDON TELEGRAPH, MAY 27tH. 

..." Add to the splendid valor of a Murat the 
fervid faith of a Cromwell and the unbroken suc- 
cess of a Havelock, and we have a captain whose 
waving sword and fearless voice the Southern 
whites would have followed ' to the pit.' 

" That he never lived to exchange a division for an 
army, a flying corps for the massed columns of the 
field of battle, may, perhajis, have been good for his 
fame, but the leader who could find the weak place 
in Hooker's line at Chancellorsville, and hurl his 
twenty -five thousand troops upon it so soon as found, 
as Jackson did, would surely have ripened into a 
renowned general. Assuredly the most fatal shot of 
the war to the Confederates, whether fired b^^ friend 
or foe, was that which struck down the life of 
' Stonewall ' Jackson — a soldier, every inch of him, 
for whatever cause he contended." 

Soon after the death of General Jackson, the 



636 APPENDIX. 

soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade sent to me the 
request that they might be permitted to erect a 
moimmeiit over tlie grave of their late commander. 

As the war lasted two years after his decease, 
and as the brave old brigade was diminished by 
death, and iinally impoverished by defeat, it was 
necessarily a long time befoi'c a monument could 
be raised. However, "A Jackson Memorial Asso- 
ciation " was organized soon after the close of the 
war, and by dint of perseverance and patriotic 
loyalty, the object was crowned with success, after 
the lapse of thirty years. In the meantime the 
grave looked so neglected, and the turf around it 
was so trodden down by many visitors, that I had 
the plot enclosed with an iron railing, and a simple 
marble headstone, inscribed with his name only, and 
a footstone Ijearing his initials, placed at the grave. 
This unpretentious monument marked his resting 
place for nearly thirty years, and was frequently 
commented upon as being singularly appropriate 
for a man of General Jackson's simplicity and 
liumility of character. 

When, however, the bronze statue Avas read}' for 
erection, this plot was not large enough for it, 
and the remains of General Jackson and his two 
children (one an infant, and the other his daughter, 
Julia, who died a wife and mother) were removed 
to a larger and more commanding lot, near by, in 
the same cenu>tery. 

This handsome monument now stands over the 
dust of the hero, as a testimonial of the love and 
veneration of his soldiers and friends throughout 
the South. To the ladies of Lexington great credit 



APPENDIX, 637 

is due for their noble eiibrts iu collecting funds for 
this moniununt. They worked long and faithfully, 
not only with their own hands, but in holding 
bazaars and entertainments that yielded large re- 
turns, which, with true patriotism, they poured into 
the treasury of the association. 

The monument was unveiled on the 21st of July, 
1891, which was the thirtieth anniversary of the 
first battle of Manassas, in which General Jackson 
won his first hmrels as a warrior of immortal fame. 
In desci'ibing the statue and the scenes of its un- 
veiling, extracts have been culled from the news- 
papers of that date: 

"Tl:e bronze statue is of heroic size and repre- 
sents the commander in uniform, standing, with a 
j^air of field-glasses in his right hand, which he has 
just lowered, and his left hand placed on the top of 
bis sword hilt, bis weight resting upon the left leg 
and sword point. The figure is eight feet high, and 
rests upon a granite pedestal ten feet and six inches 
high, giving it from the ground to the top of the 
figure a height of nineteen feet and two inches. 
The pedestal is noble for its simplicity, chasteness 
of style and fit adaptation to the rest of the work. 
From foundation to cap-stone it is devoid of artistic 
(u-namentation.^ The north face of the middle stone 
bears the word, 'STONEWALL' and the opposite 
face the name, ' JACKSON ' and the dates of 
birth and death, '1824-1863.' The other two 
sides are blank. The conception of the whole figure 
is life-like and natural. The commanding posture 
and the keen and steady gaze impress the beholder 
with the idea that Jackson is watching a charge or 



638 APPENDIX. 

Bome important rnoveniout of his troops, and his 
expression indicates that things are progressing 
satisfactorily." 

The sculptor was Virginia's gifted son, Edward 
V. Valentine. 

"Xature seemed to smile iipon the day of the 
unveiling, which Avas celebrated amid the glad 
acclaim of thousands. It was the tribute of a brave 
and intelligent people to a man whom they regarded 
as representing the highest type of their civilization, 
a man of rare genius and of a sturdy virtue hardly 
less astounding." 

"The bright uniform of the soldiers mingled with 
the sober garb of the citizens. Strains of music 
fi'om many bands awakened the echoes about the 
usually quiet town. The tread of a vast multitude 
was heard upon its streets. Old veteran soldiers 
gathered in groups and discussed incidents of life 
around the camp-fire and on the battle-field when 
with their old commander, and when the jest and 
laugh went round younger men wondered Avhether 
war was, after all, so terrible as it seemed. 

" The decorations of the streets and buildings were 
in keeping with Jackson's views — simple and plain, 
yet beautiful ; the designs showed the taste aTid the 
feeling of the people as well as the sentiment tliey 
wished to express — 'Welcome to all !' 

"At the Virginia Military Institute bunting and 
flags of all descriptions floated from every conspicu- 
ous place. But the section-room on the second floor, 
once used by Jackson, was the place of beauty. En- 
tering the room, on one side there was a pyramid of 
potted flowers three feet high, near the chair occu- 



APPENDIX. 639 

pied by General Jackson as an instructor, tlie chair 
being garlanded with tlowers, in front of a simple 
pine table once used Ij}' liini. To the left, a black- 
board bearing the inscription, 'He fought a good 
fight.' To the front, a stand of guns, with the 
marker's ilaa; of the resriment. On another black- 
board was the inscription: 'Lieutenant-General 
Jackson's body lay in state in this tower. May 14th, 
1863.' Next to this was the printed order of his 
funeral at that time. On another blackboard was 
inscribed : ' Elected to the chair of experimental phi- 
losophy and military tactics, 1851.' To the right of 
the professor's chair were three rows of plain bench 
seats, suggestive of a recitation. The Avhole ^^'as 
simple, but exceedingly impressive." 

" The streets of the town were spanned with 
triumphal arches, which were very handsome and 
striking. Upon one was written, in immense letters, 
at the top the name of Stonewall Jackson, and 
upon its columns the battles fought bj' him. 

" Five other arches had inscribed upon them the 
five following beautiful couplets, composed by Mrs. 
Margaret J. Preston : 

" ' Faith that omild not yield 
Was the legend of his shield.' 

" ' Welcome for all who live, 
Tears for all who die.' 

" ' From the fields of death and fame 
Borne upon his shield he came.' 

" ' From the laud fi.>r which lie hied 
Honor to the wai-rior dead.' 

" ' In the valley let me lie. 
Underneath God's open sky.' 



640 



APPENDIX. 



" On the arch ovor the eenieter}- gate was the 
quotation : 

" 'Nor braver liloil lor liriglitcr liiiiils," 

'• The exercises were held upon the campus of 
Washington and Lee Univei-sity, and were ojiened 




JULIA JACKSON CHRISTIAN AT FOUR YEARS. 
^Genei-Hl Jackeon'H Grunddaiigliter.) 

with music by the Old Rockbridge Artillery Band. 
"Rev. Dr. A. C. Hopkins, of Charleston, V. Va., 
known as 'the Figliting Chaplain' of the Stonewall 
Brigade, then oflered an eloquent prayer.*' 



APPENDIX. 



()41 



General Wade Hampton next introduced General 
Jubal A. Early, who, after being greeted with great 
enthusiasm, delivered an address on the military Jife 
of General Jackson. General Early had been an 




I f*: 



T. J. JACKSON CHRISTIAN AT THREE YEARS. 

(General Jnokson's Grandson.) 



able and trusted lieutenant to his old commander, 
and was conspicuous as long as he lived for his un- 
swerving devotion and loyalty to the Confederate 
cause. 

" After the address the assenililao-e marclicd 



642 APPENDIX. 

through the beautifully decorated streets up to the 
cemetery, which was too small to hold a twentieth vt 
the crowd. The military procession t(n)k their stand 
in a field adjoining the cemetery, in full view of the 
statue, and formed a phalanx of veterans as brave as 
those who stood invincible on the historic fields of 
Greece. 

"Beside the statue was erected a little platform, 
covered with white, ujion which those who were to 
unveil it should stand. A few minutes before the 
last of the soldiers had filed in, Mrs. Jackson, tlie 
wife, and little Julia Jackson Christian, aged four 
years, and Tliomas .T. .Jackson Christian, aged three 
years, the grandcliildrcn of 'Stonewall' Jackson, 
mounted the steps of the platform. 

" When the signal gun sounded, the two little 
children, with united haiuls, [lulled the cord, letting 
the veil fall, and the statue of tlic great Jackson 
stood revealed to the admiring gaze of the thousands 
around it. The cannoneers of the old Rockbridge 
Artillery at the foot of the hill announced the event 
with fifteen guns, from the canudu which the}' used 
at First Manassas, and a .-ihont snch as these quiet 
precincts never lietore heard rent the air. It was 
answered by the veterans on the other side with an 
old-fashioned ' rebel yell." The reverberating hills 
took it up and echo carried it into the deep recesses 
of the blue mountains, where it died iiwny into 
sweet musical cadences, and was lost in the distance. 
The armed infantry fired volleys until it sounded as 
if a real battle was in progress. 

" Heart saluted unto heart and was silent. Such 
a scene had never l)een witnessed in this land. 



Al'PEXDIX. (343 

' Behold liow the}' loved him I " said one, and it was 
spoken with deepest reverence. Two well-known 
officers who served under Jackson, both well scar- 
red, were sitting near each other on their horses. 
Each remarked the silence of the other and, casting 
side glances, each saw the other in tears. 'I'm 
not ashamed of it, Snowden!' 'Nor I, old boy,' 
responded the other, as he tried to smile. 

"When, after the unveiling, the column was 
marched past the monument, the old fellows looked 
up and then bowed tlieir uncovered heads and 
passed on. But this silent parting was too much 
for one tall, gaunt soldier of the old brigade, who, 
as he passed out of the cemetery, stopped, and 
looked back for a moment at the life-like figure of 
his general, and tlien waving his old gray hat 
towards it, cried out: ' Good-liye, old man, good-bye; 
we've done all we could for you, good-bye ! ' 

The New York Herald, in commenting on the 
occasion, said : " Judged by the criterion of success 
on the field, and especially b}' his celebrated Valley 
campaign, which he alone conducted, and which 
good military critics have compared with the most 
brilliant of Napoleon's campaigns, no general of 
the Southern armies, Lee excepted, was his superior 
either in tactical or strategical ability. With his 
fall at Chancellorsville, in the hour of his greatest 
victory, the sun of the Armj' of Northern Virginia 
began to set. 

-"But with all his genius for war .Tackson com- 
bined a unique character for moral heroism and 
devotion to what he deemed his duty, which is 
justly the admiration of the best men of every sec- 



644 APPENDIX. 

tion of the Union. The demonstration at Lexing- 
ton, therefore, can not be regarded as an attempt 
to fan the fire.s of seetional feeling. It was a 
spontaneous trilmte to a great wari'ior and a great 
man.'' 

Mr. George R. Wendling, a Northern man, in a 
magnitieent leiture on this Southern hero, said: 

... "A jiersonality so uni(jue, a foi-ee so tremen- 
dous as Stonewall -laekson, is not projected into 
human affairs by chance. There must be for us a 
deep lesson, for our weal or woe as a nation, some- 
where in tlie history of a nuin whose career bore 
with immeasurable Aveight upon our national exist- 
ence. . . . The jiurpose of the war, apparently from 
the divine standpoint, was to select this man, in 
whose veins flowed no droj) of I'uritan blood, Init 
only the jiurcst strain of the cavalier, to which was 
joiiu'd tJic most rigid Puritanic religious comic- 
tions — and of a man so blended to niakt' the fusing 
together the cavalier and Puritan of South and 
ISTorth, in the white crucible of war, and so to 
cement as never l)eft>re those diverse and divergent 
elements and make tlii' Americairtiiaiion."' 

WORDS FROM JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

"To-day Jackson stands in the opinion of 
Europeans, so far as I know it, the highest chief- 
tain of the Confederate cause. This great acade- 
mician, this silent })rofessor, constantly rose like a 
meteor in brightness, for his light was stead}- as 
the orl) of (lav, lirowiny in iiower, increasin"' in 
brilliancy, and in the trust which the })eople reposed 
upon it." 



APPENDIX. 645 

Duriug his captivity Mr. Davis also said : 

" For glory Jackson had lived long enough, and 
if the result had to come, it was the divine mercy 
that removed him. He fell like the eagle, his own 
feather on the shaft tliat was dripping with his own 
life-blood. 

"In his death the Confederacy lost an eye and an 
arm, our only consolation lieing that his summons 
could have reached no soldier more prepared to 
accept it joyfully." 

Hon. William Porcher Miles, LL. D., president 
of the South Carolina College, in an address to 
j^oung men, said : >^ 

"The deep religious enthusiasm of Jackson doubt- 
leas had much to do with the impression he made 
upon the Northern mind, especially in New En- 
gland, where the stamp of the old Puritans remains 
indelible. There was, too, something of Cromwell 
aliout him, though with none of Cromwell's intrigue 
and personal ambition. His own exalted ideal of 
duty made him sternly exacting in requiring its 
discharge by -r'^ rs. He could not easily make 
allowances for the shortcomings of his subordinates; 
and indolence and inefficiency he held in loftj^ con- 
tempt. In one of his letters written to me as chair-" 
man of the Military Committee of the Confederate 
House of liepresentatives, urging the necessity of 
ridding the army of incompetent officers (and which, 
I may add, gave rise to what was called ' the army 
purging bill'), he used the following language: 

'"Merit should be the only basis for promotion. 
A true patriot will not desire an office for which he 
is incompetent, and none but true patriots should 



646 APPENDIX. 

have office. Officers should be ready to ignore 
every idea of personal ease and comfort "and to place 
our cause above, every earthly consul erat Ion.' ,^^ 

"Noble words! How cluii'acteristic of the man! 
How unceasingl}' did his own example illustrate 
their precepts ! 'Sext to his duty to his God stood 
his duty to his country. In her cause he was will- 
ing to spend and be spent. Xo dangers could daunt, 
no perils dishearten, no odds dismay, no toil or 
fatigue subdue the indomitable soul of this Cliristian 
soldier. The physical strength, the sinews and 
muscles of his men and horses could not keep pace 
with his fiery ardor. He never seemed to feel the 
necessity of repose. He had a testimony in life to 
deliver, a mission to accomplish, and could not rest 
until the goal was attained. 'Rest!' he would 
have exclaimed in the words of John Wesley, 'AVi 11 
I not have all eternity to rest in V ' 

"And he has gone to that rest. Across the broad 
and silent river he calmly jiassed, while victory 
still hovered over- his banners, hopeful, trustful, 
happily unconscious of the impending ruin of that 
cause which he placed 'above every earthly con- 
sideration,' and for which he was ever ready to lay 
down his life. Truly he might have said: 'I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.' " 



<28 



APPENDIX. 647 



STONEWALL JACKSONS DYING WORDS, 

Bv Mrs. MiRuAEKT J. Pkeston. 

"Whiit are the thoughts that are stirrinsj his breast? 
What is the mystical vision he seesV 
— 'Let us pass over the rwer, and rest 

Under the shade of the trees.' 

" Has he grown sick of his toils and his tasks? 
Sighs the worn spirit for respite or ease? 
Is it a moment's cool halt that he asks, 

Under the shade of the trees? 

" Is It the far Shenandoah, whose rush 

Ofttime had come to him, borne on the breeze, 
Over his tent, as he lay in the hush, 

Under the shade of the trees? 

" Nay— though the rasp of llie flesh was so sore, 

Faith, that had yearnings far keener than these, 
Saw the soft sheen of the Thitherward Shore, 
Under the shade of the trees: — 

" Caught the high jisalms of ecstatic delight,—' 

Heard the harps harping like soundings of seas,- 
Saw earth's pure-hearted ones, walking in white, 
Under the shade of the trees. 

" Surely for him it was well,— it was best, — 

War-worn, yet asking no furlough of ease, 
There to pass over the river and rest 

Under the shade of the trees!" 



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